Klin Onkol 2013; 26(6): 404-408. DOI: 10.14735/amko2013404.
Summary
Backround: In oncological care the main emphasis should not be put only on prolonging a patient’s life, but also on its quality. The aim of the study was to assess the quality of life of patients hospitalized at the oncology clinic of the University Hospital of Ostrava (UHO), who exhausted all the anti‑cancer treatment options. Patients (sample) and methods: In a pilot study the sample consisted of 93 patients from the oncological clinic of UHO with Karnofsky score < 60. A questionnaire EORTC QOL‑ C30 was used to evaluate the quality of life. Results: The overall score of quality of life was 49%. Repeated measurement showed a significant decrease of the score to 37% (p < 0.001). Assessing the quality of life on a functioning scale, role functioning (47.3; 95% CI 42.6– 52.1) and social functioning (48.0; 95% CI 42.5– 53.5) were assessed the worst. When judging on a symptoms scale, patients reported the major problem was fatigue (48.8; 95% CI 44.8– 52.8) and pain (44.5; 95% CI 39.2– 48.8). Repeated measurement showed a statistically significant decrease in quality of life on the scale of functioning in all areas. On the symptoms scale there was similarly a decline of quality in fatigue, pain and breathlessness categories (p < 0.01). Furthermore, we observed a correlation between lower overall quality of life and a worse level of physical functions (r = 0.8047), social relationships (r = 0.7796), fatigue (r = 0.8166) and pain intensity (r = 0.8282). Conclusion: Palliative care patients admitted to the oncology clinic perceive their quality of life as inferior. Home palliative care or a hospice appears to be a more suitable environment for the management of terminal care.
