Patient-reported quality-of-life after radiofrequency ablation of varicose veins compared to conventional surgery

2013 ◽  
Vol 182 (4) ◽  
pp. 639-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Thompson ◽  
A. Lewis ◽  
C. Weir
Author(s):  
L. CRAEGHS ◽  
B. BECHTER-HUGL ◽  
S. THOMIS ◽  
I. FOURNEAU

Quality of life one year after radiofrequency ablation of the great saphenous vein Symptomatic varicose veins have a negative impact on quality of life. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an endovenous technique to occlude the venous lumen. In this study, the patient satisfaction and patient-reported quality of life is investigated one to two years after RFA of the great saphenous vein (GSV). Questionnaires were sent to 200 patients who were treated with RFA of the GSV at UZ Leuven more than one year ago. Data were processed using SPSS Statistics 24. 98 of 200 patients (49%) participated in this study. 80,4% (78/97) of patients were satisfied and 95,8% (92/96) would choose it all over again. Self image improved in 58,2% (57/98) and general health improved in 29,6% (29/98) of patients compared to a year ago. 57,4% (54/94) of patients had no relapse or progression one year after RFA of the GSV. Dissatisfaction was more common in patients with a history of varicose vein treatment, in patients with recurrent varicose veins or venous symptoms and in patients with postoperative hematoma. RFA of the GSV results in patient satisfaction among the participating patients and has a positive impact on their self image and on health-related quality of life more than a year after the treatment.


2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Bootun ◽  
TRA Lane ◽  
B Dharmarajah ◽  
CS Lim ◽  
M Najem ◽  
...  

Objective Endovenous techniques are, at present, the recommended choice for truncal vein treatment. However, the thermal techniques require tumescent anaesthesia, which can be uncomfortable during administration. Non-tumescent, non-thermal techniques would, therefore, have potential benefits. This randomised controlled trial is being carried out to compare the degree of pain that patients experience while receiving mechanochemical ablation or radiofrequency ablation. The early results of this randomised controlled trial are reported here. Methods Patients attending for the treatment of primary varicose veins were randomised to receive mechanochemical ablation (ClariVein®) or radiofrequency ablation (Covidien® Venefit™). The most symptomatic limb was randomised. The primary outcome measure was intra-procedural pain using a validated visual analogue scale. The secondary outcome measures were change in quality of life and clinical scores, time to return to normal activities and work as well as the occlusion rate. Results One-hundred and nineteen patients have been randomised (60 in the mechanochemical ablation group). Baseline characteristics were similar. Maximum pain score was significantly lower in the mechanochemical ablation group (19.3 mm, standard deviation ±19 mm) compared to the radiofrequency ablation group (34.5 mm ± 23 mm; p < 0.001). Average pain score was also significantly lower in the mechanochemical ablation group (13.4 mm ± 16 mm) compared to the radiofrequency ablation group (24.4 mm ± 18 mm; p = 0.001). Sixty-six percent attended follow-up at one month, and the complete or proximal occlusion rates were 92% for both groups. At one month, the clinical and quality of life scores for both groups had similar improvements. Conclusion Early results show that the mechanochemical ablation is less painful than the radiofrequency ablation procedure. Clinical and quality of life scores were similarly improved at one month. The long-term data including occlusion rates at six months and quality of life scores are being collected.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Azhar T. Zaki ◽  
Manal S. Hassan ◽  
Ahmed H. Soliman ◽  
Yosreah M. Mohamed

Context: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considered one of the most challenging tumors with high incidence, prevalence, and mortality rates. Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) is one of the emerging therapeutic modalities used for the minimally invasive treatment in the management of early-stage HCC. Aim: This study aimed to assess the effect of self-care guidelines on quality of life for patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma undergoing Radio Frequency Ablation. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used to achieve the aim of this study. This study was conducted at the Interventional Radiology Unit, affiliated to Ain Shams University Hospital, on a purposive sample of 50 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma; 25 randomly allocated to the study group, and 25 allocated to the control group. A structured interview questionnaire for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing radiofrequency ablation was used to collect the study data. It comprises three parts: Sociodemographic characteristic, assessment of patients' medical health, and knowledge about HCC and RFA. The second tool was the quality of life of cancer survivors questionnaire (pre /posttest), and finally, a patient-reported self-care practices assessment checklist (pre /posttests). Results: There were statistically significant differences between the study and control groups regarding their total knowledge about hepatocellular carcinoma and radiofrequency ablation therapy pre and post-implementation of self-care guidelines. There were highly statistically significant differences between both groups regarding the total quality of life, pre and post-implementation of self-care guidelines. In addition, there were highly statistically significant differences regarding total self-care practice, pre, and post-implementation of self-care guidelines. A positive correlation was revealed between total knowledge with total self-care practice and total quality of life (pre/posttest). Also, a significant correlation was revealed between the total quality of life and self-care practices post self-care guidelines implementation at (p<0.001). Conclusion: Implementation of self-care guidelines were improved patients' knowledge, quality of life, and self-care practices for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing radiofrequency ablation. A simplified, illustrated, and comprehensive Arabic booklet including self-care guidelines should be available for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing radiofrequency ablation. Replication of the current study on a larger probability sample is recommended to achieve generalization of the results. Further studies are recommended to assess factors affecting the quality of life for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing radiofrequency ablation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 289-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda C. Shepherd ◽  
Marta Ortega-Ortega ◽  
Manj S. Gohel ◽  
David Epstein ◽  
Louise C. Brown ◽  
...  

Objectives: Although the clinical benefits of endovenous thermal ablation are widely recognized, few studies have evaluated the health economic implications of different treatments. This study compares 6-month clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) compared with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in the setting of a randomized clinical trial.Methods: Patients with symptomatic primary varicose veins were randomized to EVLA or RFA and followed up for 6 months to evaluate clinical improvements, health related quality of life (HRQOL) and cost-effectiveness.Results: A total of 131 patients were randomized, of which 110 attended 6-month follow-up (EVLA n = 54; RFA n = 56). Improvements in quality of life (AVVQ and SF-12v2) and Venous Clinical Severity Scores (VCSS) achieved at 6 weeks were maintained at 6 months, with no significant difference detected between treatment groups. There were no differences in treatment failure rates. There were small differences in favor of EVLA in terms of costs and 6-month HRQOL but these were not statistically significant. However, RFA is associated with less pain at up to 10 days.Conclusions: EVLA and RFA result in comparable and significant gains in quality of life and clinical improvements at 6 months, compared with baseline values. EVLA is more likely to be cost-effective than RFA but absolute differences in costs and HRQOL are small.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 140-151
Author(s):  
Markus A. Wirtz ◽  
Matthias Morfeld ◽  
Elmar Brähler ◽  
Andreas Hinz ◽  
Heide Glaesmer

Abstract. The association between health-related quality of life (HRQoL; Short-Form Health Survey-12; SF-12) and patient-reported morbidity-related symptoms measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) is analyzed in a representative sample of older people in the general German population. Data from 1,659 people aged 60 to 85 years were obtained. Latent class analysis identified six classes of patients, which optimally categorize clusters of physical symptoms the participants reported: musculoskeletal impairments (39.8%), healthy (25.7%), musculoskeletal and respiratory/cardiac impairments (12.8%), musculoskeletal and respiratory impairments, along with bowel and digestion problems (12.9%), general impairments (4.9%), and general impairments with no bowel and digestion problems (4.8%). The participants’ SF-12 Physical Health Scores (η2 = .39) and their Mental Health Scores (η2 = .28) are highly associated with these latent classes. These associations remain virtually identical after controlling for age. The results provide evidence that profiles of patient-reported physical impairments correspond strongly with reduced HRQoL independently from aging processes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 158 (3) ◽  
pp. S107
Author(s):  
Edward Barnes ◽  
Millie Long ◽  
Laura Raffals ◽  
Xian Zhang ◽  
Anuj Vyas ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lleo Ana Maria Gonzalez ◽  
Mauro Boronat Cortes ◽  
Ulla Feldt-Rasmussen ◽  
Carlos Rodriguez Perez ◽  
AEse Krogh Rasmussen ◽  
...  

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