Pulmonary lymphangitis and cancer: Prospective series of 37 patients in palliative care

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (18_suppl) ◽  
pp. 18600-18600 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Dettino ◽  
E. M. Negri ◽  
T. Pagano

18600 Background: Lymphangitis of the lungs is an uncommon type of metastasis, mainly in breast, lung and gastric cancers, and has major impact in quality of life and an unfavorable prognosis. Survival is very poor: 50% in 3 and 15% in 6 months. Our objective was to evaluate prospectively quality of life in cancer patients with pulmonary lymphangitis, under palliative care. Methods: Patients with pulmonary lymphangitis, diagnosed either by lung biopsy (major criteria) or 3 minor criteria (cyto or histotologically proven cancer, clinical picture and image exam) were followed in 3 tertiary services, in a cohort series study. Primary end point was quality of life (QoL), measured with questionnaires in the beginning of the study and monthly afterwards (Saint George Respiratory Questionnaire -SGRQ- and Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey -SF36). Clinical and complementary aspects were also followed, in addition to treatment and outcome. Results: Thirty-seven patients were included from Aug/2004 to Jan/2006 - 23 female and 14 male; age from 41 to 84 (mean: 62) years. Primary tumors were: lung (20), breast (11), esophagus (2), pancreas, rectum and bone. Of those patients, 33 were able to respond QoL questionnaires in the beginning of follow-up and monthly thereafter. Median follow-up was of one month (range: 0–13); at the moment, 9 patients are still alive. Median survival was 2.5 months (range: 0,1–33), with 38% with a survival of at least 6 months. In general, QoL was poor, but improved after palliative care. Notice that values get higher as QoL improves in SF-36; however, they get lower as QoL improves in SGRQ - values were 61.5, 50.5, 61.7, and 47.5% for SGRQ and 38.1, 32.1, 32.8, 61.6 for SF36 in 0, 1, 3 and 6 months, respectively. Palliative care included: corticosteroids (65%), oxygen (51%), opioids (51%), diuretics (47%), inhalations with beta2-agonists and/or ipatropium (57%), chemo and/or hormonotherapy (51%), physical therapy (43%), antidepressants and benzodiazepines (37% each), thoracocentesis (35%), and blood transfusions. Conclusions: Even though QoL is poor and survival is short for patients with cancer lymphangitis in lungs, some improvement is possible with active palliative care. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 801-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy Huen ◽  
Cher Huang ◽  
Hui Liu ◽  
Lorna Kwan ◽  
Stephanie Pannell ◽  
...  

Introduction: Systematic integration of palliative care in a surgical setting is important, but has yet to be achieved. Despite evidence of early palliative care improving patients’ quality of life, hospice utilization remains low. Through an integrated palliative care-urology clinic, we aim to assess the effect of early outpatient palliative care on hospice utilization, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and satisfaction in patients with advanced urological cancers. Methods: Participants were recruited from 2012 through 2016 in the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Hospital. We partnered with palliative care clinicians to develop an integrated urology-palliative care clinic, where participants were seen by the palliative care team on the same day as their urological visit. The 12-item Short-Form Survey, Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire Short-Form, Patient Health Questionnaire, and Brief Pain Inventory were administered at initial and subsequent visits. Follow-up questionnaire results were compared between baseline and the 2 follow-up visits, and hospice utilization rates were assessed. Results: Fifty-three participants completed baseline questionnaires. Of those 22 (42%) patients completed at least one follow-up assessment. The median time for the first and second follow-up visits was 2.9 and 7.8 months, respectively. There were no significant differences in HRQOL and satisfaction between baseline and subsequent follow-up visits. A total of 36 (68%) of 53 participants who were enrolled at the start of the study were deceased. Of those, 29 (81%) expired within a home or inpatient hospice. Conclusions: Rates of hospice use were high in an integrated palliative care-urology model. Health-related quality of life and satisfaction did not worsen over time.


Author(s):  
Loay Shoubash ◽  
Jörg Baldauf ◽  
Marc Matthes ◽  
Michael Kirsch ◽  
Matthias Rath ◽  
...  

AbstractThe aim of this study is to analyze the long-term quality of life after surgery of cavernoma. A monocentric retrospective study was conducted on 69 patients with cavernoma treated microsurgically between 2000 and 2016. The eloquence was adopted from Spetzler-Martin definition. A most recent follow-up was elicited between 2017 and 2019, in which the quality of life (QoL) was evaluated with the Short Form-12 questionnaire (SF12). Forty-one lesions were in eloquent group (EG), 22 in non-eloquent group (NEG), 3 in orbit, and 3 in the spinal cord. Postoperative worsening of the modified Rankin scale (mRS) occurred in 19.5% of cases in EG versus 4.5% in NEG. After a mean follow-up of 6.5 years (SD 4.6), the neurological status was better or unchanged compared to baseline in 85.4% of EG and 100% of NEG. Regarding QoL assessment of 44 patients (EG n = 27, NEG n = 14) attended the last follow-up. Patients after eloquent cavernoma resection reported a non-inferior QoL in most SF12 domains (except for physical role) compared to NEG. However, they reported general health perception inferior to norms, which was affected by the limited physical and emotional roles. At a late follow-up, the surgical morbidity was transient in the NEG and mostly recovered in the EG. The QoL comparison between eloquent and non-eloquent cavernomas created interesting and new data after prolonged follow-up. These results add value for decision-making as well as patient counseling for future encountered cases. Preoperative evaluation of QoL is recommended for future studies to assess QoL dynamics.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. e032889
Author(s):  
Solveigh Paola Lingens ◽  
Georgia Schilling ◽  
Julia Harms ◽  
Holger Schulz ◽  
Christiane Bleich

IntroductionIn recent years, medical treatment for cancer has improved, thereby increasing the life expectancy of patients with cancer. Hence, the focus in healthcare shifted towards analysing treatments that offer to decrease distress and improve the quality of life of patients with cancer. The psychological burden of patients with cancer originates from all kinds of psychosocial challenges related to diagnosis and treatment. Cancer counselling centres (CCounCs) try to address these concerns. However, the current literature lacks research on the effectiveness of CCounCs. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of CCounCs with regard to distress and other relevant psychosocial variables (quality of life, anxietyand so on).Methods and analysisThis prospective observational study with a non-randomised control group has three measurement points: before the first counselling session (baseline, t0) and at 2 weeks and 3 months after baseline (t1, t2). Patients and their relatives who seek counselling between December 2018 and November 2020 and have sufficient German language skills will be included. The control group will be recruited at clinics and oncological outpatient centres in Hamburg. Propensity scoring will be applied to adjust for differences between the control and intervention groups at baseline. Sociodemographic data, medical data and counselling concerns are measured at baseline. Distress (distress thermometer), quality of life (Short Form-8 Health Survey, European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30), anxiety (Generalized AnxietyDisorder-7), depression (Patient HealthQuestionnaire-9) and further psychosocial variables are assessed at all time points. With a total of 787 participants, differences between the intervention and control groups of a small effect size (f=0.10) can be detected with a power of 80%.Ethics and disseminationThe study was registered prior to data collection with the German Registration of Clinical Trials in September 2018. Ethical approval was received by the local psychological ethical committee of the Center for Psychosocial Medicine at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf in August 2018. The results will be published in peer-reviewed journals.Trial registration numberDRKS00015516; Pre-results.


Stroke ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan M ODonnell ◽  
Maurizio Manuguerra ◽  
Jemma L Hodge ◽  
Greg Savage ◽  
Michael K Morgan

Background: Studies have questioned the effectiveness of surgery for the management of unruptured intracranial aneurysm (uIA). Few studies have examined the ability to drive and quality of life (QOL) after surgery for uIA. Objective: This study examined the effectiveness of surgical management of uIA by measuring patients’ perceived quality of life and their cognitive abilities related to driving. Methods: Between January 2011 and January 2016 patients with a uIA were assessed using the Quality Metric Short Form 36 (SF36) and the off-road driver screening instrument DriveSafeDriveAware. Reassessments were conducted at the 6-week post-operative follow-up for surgical patients and at 12-month follow-up for surgical and conservatively managed patients. Results: 175 patients enrolled in the study, of which 112(66%) had surgical management of their aneurysm. For the surgical cases who completed all assessments (N=74), there was a trend for the DriveSafe pre-operative mean score of 108 (SD 10.7) to be lower than the 6-week and 12-month post-operative mean scores (111 SD 9.7 and 112 SD 10.2 respectively)(p=0.05). There were no significant changes in DriveAware scores at any epoch or between patient groups nor in the MCS in the surgical group.. There was a significant decline in PCS scores at 6 weeks post-operatively which recovered at 12 months (52 SD 8.1, 46 SD 6.8 and 52 SD 7.1 respectively)( p <0.01). There was no significant difference in 12-month mRS scores between the surgical cases who completed with cases who did not complete all assessments. Conclusion: Surgery for uIA did not affect cognitive abilities for driving at 6 weeks or 12 months after surgery. There was a decline in the QOL in the first months after surgery, however QOL returned to pre-surgical status 12 months after surgery. If the risk of seizures is low and there are no post-operative complications, returning to driving can be recommended.


2018 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Ramage ◽  
C Yen ◽  
S Qiu ◽  
C Simillis ◽  
C Kontovounisios ◽  
...  

Introduction This study aimed to ascertain whether missed obstetric anal sphincter injury at delivery had worse functional and quality of life outcomes than primary repair immediately following delivery. Materials and methods Two to one propensity matching was undertaken of patients presenting to a tertiary pelvic floor unit with ultrasound evidence of missed obstetric anal sphincter injury within 24 months of delivery with patients who underwent primary repair at the time of delivery by parity, grade of injury and time to assessment. Outcomes compared included Birmingham Bowel, Bladder and Urinary Symptom Questionnaire (BBUSQ), Wexner Incontinence Score, Short Form-36, Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire and anorectal physiology results. Results Thirty-two missed anal sphincter injuries were matched two to one with sixty-two patients who underwent primary repair of an anal sphincter defect. Mean time to follow-up was 9.31 ± 6.79 months. Patients with a missed anal sphincter injury had suffered more incontinence, as seen in higher the Birmingham Bowel, Bladder and Urinary Symptom Questionnaire (BBUSQ; 30.56% ± 14.41% vs. 19.75% ± 15.65%, P = 0.002) and Wexner scores (6.00 ± 3.76 vs. 3.67 ± 4.06, P = 0.009). They also had a worse BBUSQ urinary domain score (28.25% ± 14.9% vs. 17.01 ± 13.87%, P = 0.001) and worse physical functioning as measured by the Short Form-36 questionnaire (P = 0.045). There were no differences in other outcomes compared, including anorectal physiology and sexual function. Discussion In the short-term, patients with a missed obstetric anal sphincter injury had significantly worse faecal incontinence and urinary function scores, however quality of life and sexual function were largely comparable between groups. Conclusions Longer-term follow-up is needed to assess the effects of missed obstetric anal sphincter injury over time.


Neurosurgery ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (6) ◽  
pp. 967-974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Schwartz ◽  
Thomas Pfefferkorn ◽  
Caroline Ebrahimi ◽  
Caroline Ottomeyer ◽  
Gunther Fesl ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND: Detailed data on long-term functional outcome of patients with World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) grades IV and V aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhages (aSAH) are still scarce. OBJECTIVE: Assessment of long-term outcome of WFNS IV and V aSAH patients. METHODS: Functional outcome and quality of life were assessed by the modified Rankin scale (mRS) and the 36-item short-form health survey in consecutively treated aSAH WFNS IV and V patients between 2005 and 2010. Scores from the 36-item short-form health survey were compared to a healthy German population. Prognostic factors were analyzed by uni- and multivariate models. RESULTS: One hundred and seven eligible patients (median age: 53.0 years) were identified. After interdisciplinary consensus on optimal treatment, aneurysms were obliterated either by clipping (n = 35) or by coiling (n = 72). Ten patients were lost to long-term follow-up; the median clinical follow-up period was 3.2 years for the remaining 97 cases. Twenty-five of 97 died during the acute hospital phase and another 10 patients over the follow-up period leaving 62 long-term survivors. At the end of clinical follow-up, 40/97 patients, including 40/62 of long-term survivors, reached functional independence (mRS ≤ 2). Twelve of 97 patients were moderately (mRS = 3), 10/97 patients were severely disabled (mRS ≥ 4). Younger age (≤ 53 years; P = .001) and radiological absence of cerebral infarction (P = .03) were the strongest predictors for favorable outcome. Quality of life was perceived to be only moderately reduced compared to the healthy control group. CONCLUSION: Poor-grade aSAH is not necessarily associated with poor long-term functional outcome; after aneurysm repair ∼60% of patients survived and among long-term survivors ∼ 60% regained functional independence.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 583-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi-Ying Yu ◽  
Jie-Jun Wang ◽  
Yu-guang Huang ◽  
Bing Hu ◽  
Kun Wang ◽  
...  

Purpose The number of cancer cases in China has increased rapidly from 2.1 million in 2000 to 4.3 million in 2015. As a consequence, pain management as an integral part of cancer treatment became an important health care issue. In March 2011, the Good Pain Management (GPM) program was launched to standardize the treatment of cancer pain and improve the quality of life for patients with cancer. With this work, we will describe the GPM program, its implementation experience, and highlight key lessons that can improve pain management for patients with cancer. Methods We describe procedures for the selection, implementation, and assessment procedures for model cancer wards. We analyzed published results in areas of staff training and patient education, pain management in practice, analgesic drugs administration, and patient follow-up and satisfaction. Results Pain management training enabled medical staff to accurately assess the level of pain and to provide effective pain relief through timely dispensation of medication. Patients with good knowledge of treatment of pain were able to overcome their aversion to opioid drugs and cooperate with nursing staff on pain assessment to achieve effective drug dose titration. Consumption of strong opioid drugs increased significantly; however, there was no change for weaker opioids. Higher pain remission rates were achieved for patients with moderate-to-severe pain levels. Proper patient follow-up after discharge enabled improved outcomes to be maintained. Conclusion The GPM program has instituted a consistent and high standard of care for pain management at cancer wards and improved the quality of life for patients with cancer.


2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 320-327
Author(s):  
P.A. Oddon ◽  
M. Montava ◽  
F. Salburgo ◽  
M. Collin ◽  
C. Vercasson ◽  
...  

L’obiettivo di questo lavoro è stato di valutare la storia naturale di crescita degli schwannomi vestibolari (VS), la qualità di vita di quelli trattati in maniera conservativa e di validare una scala specifica per tale malattia in lingua francese, Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality-of- Life (PANQOL). Sono stati studiati retrospettivamente 26 pazienti con VS trattato in maniera conservativa. Sono state raccolte le caratteristiche dei pazienti e i reperti radiologici, e sono state utilizzate due scale per validare valutare la qualità di vita: la Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) e la PANQOL scale, tradotta in francese. I punteggi ottenuti sono stati comparati con gli studi precedenti. Il tempo medio di follow up è stato di 25 mesi (range 6-72). È stata osservato un accrescimento del tumore in 14 pazienti (53,8%), nessun accrescimento in 12 pazienti (46,2%), e non si è verificata nessuna riduzione. La crescita media del tumore è stata di 2,22 mm/anno, e non sono stati individuati fattori predittivi di crescita. I pazienti con vertigini e instabilità hanno riferito una più bassa qualità di vita, sia secondo la scala SF-36, sia secondo la scala PANQOL. Utilizzando la scala SF-36, i nostri risultati si sono rivelati paragonabili a quelli della letteratura. Utilizzando la scala PANQOL, i nostri punteggi non si sono rivelati statisticamente diversi da quelli derivanti da studi tedeschi e nordamericani, ad eccezione di quelli riguardanti l’udito (p=0,019). La qualità di vita diventa sempre più importante nella gestione dei VS. In linea con questi risultati, noi sosteniamo la strategia non conservativa associata ad una riabilitazione vestibolare per quei pazienti con vertigini ed instabilità. La scala PANQOL, disponibile in lingua francese, si è rivelata specifica per i VS.


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