Correlation between fatigue evaluated with a visual analog scale (VAS) and quality of life (QoL) in cancer patients treated with biosimilar epoetin alfa for chemotherapy-induced anemia (CIA): The CIROCO study

Abstract Cancer is considered a family disease as the caregivers (CG’s) role extends beyond providing care as they can also help facilitate treatment decisions. While much has been reported in the literature about patient (PT) goals of care (GoC), little is known about discordance between PT and CG GoC and the impact of PT age. The variables of interest were PT and CG identified GoC using a 100-point visual analog scale (VAS) with anchors of quality of life (0) and survival (100). Discordance was defined as a > 40 point difference on the VAS. The GoC data reported here were those obtained at enrollment and prior to subject’s death. A sample of 235 PTs and CGs of PTs diagnosed with advanced cancers were included in the study. Mean age for the PTs was 64.7 (SD=10.5, range =21-88) with 54% being > 65. At enrollment, 28.7% of the PT-CG pairs of those PTs 65 years (X2 (1)=1.06, p=.304). At death, 61.8% (X2 (1)=31.04 <.001, Φ=.49) with discord at enrollment had discord at death. For patients who were older, 66.7% who had discord at enrollment also had discord at death and for patients

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Customized Foot Insoles Have a Positive Effect on Pain, Function, and Quality of Life in Patients with Medial Knee Osteoarthritis

Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association ◽

10.7547/1030050 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 103 (1) ◽

pp. 50-55 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Søren Thorgaard Skou ◽

Lea Hojgaard ◽

Ole H. Simonsen

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Physical Activity ◽

Older Adults ◽

Knee Osteoarthritis ◽

Visual Analog Scale ◽

Oxford Knee Score ◽

Analog Scale ◽

Custom Made ◽

Arch Support

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a prevalent degenerative disease in older adults. Treatment strategies, including insoles, focus on reducing pain and physical disability. In medial KOA, insoles have been studied extensively with conflicting results, possibly due to heterogeneity in outcome measures and the intervention. We sought to investigate the effect of custom-made laterally wedged insoles on pain, function, and quality of life in patients with medial KOA. Methods: Fifty-one consecutive patients with medial KOA were prescribed custom-made insoles with arch support and a 5.0° to 8.7° lateral wedge. At follow-up, 42 of the 51 participants (22 men; mean age, 63 years; mean Kellgren-Lawrence, 3.4) participated. Retrospectively, participants were asked to rate the pain intensity in their affected knee before and after the intervention measured on a visual analog scale after 30 min of physical activity (primary outcome), at rest, at night, and after 50 m of walking. Additionally, they completed the Oxford Knee Score and the EQ-5D. The paired-samples t test was applied in the statistics. Results: The visual analog scale score after 30 min of physical activity was significantly reduced after the intervention (mean, 3.3 cm; 95% confidence interval, 2.1–4.5 cm; P < .001). The same significant changes were found in all of the secondary outcomes. Conclusions: There was a significant reduction in pain and improvements in function and quality of life with custom-made laterally wedged insoles with arch support in older adults with mild-to-severe medial KOA. The customization of laterally wedged insoles may be essential for the effect in medial KOA. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 103(1): 50–55, 2013)

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Impact of therapy with epoetin alfa on clinical outcomes in patients with nonmyeloid malignancies during cancer chemotherapy in community oncology practice. Procrit Study Group.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.1997.15.3.1218 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 1218-1234 ◽

Cited By ~ 522

Author(s):

J Glaspy ◽

R Bukowski ◽

D Steinberg ◽

C Taylor ◽

S Tchekmedyian ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Functional Status ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Hemoglobin Level ◽

Activity Level ◽

Epoetin Alfa ◽

Open Label ◽

Transfusion Requirements ◽

The Impact

PURPOSE To study the impact of Procrit (epoetin alfa; Amgen Inc, Thousand Oaks, CA) on quality of life, transfusion requirements, and hemoglobin in anemic cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS More than 500 community-based oncologists enrolled 2,342 patients with malignancies undergoing cytotoxic chemotherapy in an open-label study. Patients were treated with epoetin alfa 150 U/kg three times weekly, which could be doubled if the therapuetic response was judged inadequate. Total treatment was up to 4 months. RESULTS Of the 2,342 patients enrolled, data were available for 2,030 patients. Of the 2,030, 1,047 patients completed all 4 months of epoetin alfa therapy. Epoetin alfa was associated with significant increases in mean self-rated scores for energy level, activity level, and overall quality of life; these improvements correlated with the magnitude of the hemoglobin increase and were independent of tumor response. In addition, epoetin alfa was associated with a significant increase in mean hemoglobin and with a significant decrease in the proportion of patients requiring transfusions (baseline to final value, P < .001). Epoetin alfa was well tolerated. CONCLUSION Epoetin alfa is effective in improving the functional status and quality of life in anemic cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, as well as increasing hemoglobin level and decreasing transfusion requirements. Improvement in functional status can be attributed to an increase in hemoglobin level, demonstrating that quality of life in this group of patients can be improved by aggressively treating anemia. Further studies will be required to define the optimal doses and schedules for epoetin alfa.

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