Assessment of the quality of life of patients with advanced and end-stage cancer or serious infections with a symptom-based or an impact-based instrument.

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Assessment of the quality of life of patients with advanced and end-stage cancer or serious infections with a symptom-based or an impact-based instrument.

Support Care Cancer. 1999 Mar;7(2):64-70. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/99186945
Witteveen PO; Jacobs HM; van Groenestijn MA; Lodder AC; van Boxtel AH; Nieuwland M; Post MW; Touw-Otten FW; Blijham GH; Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Oncology, University; Hospital Utrecht, The Netherlands. P.O.Witteveen@digd.azu.nl

Abstract: In 1992 a project was started in which home care technology was made available to patients with cancer or serious infections. Primary care providers were trained and supported to administer parenteral drugs and fluids in the home setting. Between 1992 and 1995 we applied the Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (RSCL) and the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) as questionnaires for quality of life (QoL) assessment in a group of 112 hospitalized patients who were prepared to receive further treatment at home. Scores on the RSCL revealed a high level of symptomatology in both the physical and the psychological dimension. Factor analysis showed a five-factor rather than a two-factor structure. The SIP showed considerable restrictions in daily living, particularly in the physical dimension. Whereas the RSCL and the SIP correlated well in the psychological and physical dimensions in advanced cancer patients, this correlation disappeared in the group of endstage cancer patients. The data indicate that the health-related QoL of end-stage cancer patients cannot be reliably be assessed with a symptom-based instrument alone; it needs to be supplemented by other instruments, such as the SIP.

Keywords: JOURNAL ARTICLE Activities of Daily Living Adult Attitude to Health Comparative Study Female Fluid Therapy Health Status Home Care Services Home Infusion Therapy Human HIV Infections/DRUG THERAPY/PHYSIOPATHOLOGY/*PSYCHOLOGY Infusions, Parenteral Life Expectancy Male Middle Age Neoplasms/DRUG THERAPY/PHYSIOPATHOLOGY/*PSYCHOLOGY Palliative Care *Quality of Life Questionnaires Reproducibility of Results Sickness Impact Profile Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
990730
A9970946

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