Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Medical Center Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medical Center Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
BMC Cancer. 2021 Apr 30;21(1):478. doi: 10.1186/s12885-021-08236-2.
In different cancer entities, several studies have shown the adverse effects of cancer on mental health, psychological well-being and the increased risk of high emotional distress in cancer patients. This study aims to analyze psychosocial distress levels and their relationship between sociodemographic parameters and selected items on the Distress Thermometer (DT) Problem List in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients.
We assessed a total of 120 HNSCC patients using the Distress Thermometer (DT) Problem List. Distress scores (DTS) of 90 patients were available. A DTS of ≥ 5 on the visual analogue scale represents clinically relevant distress. Data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics, comparison of mean values for different DTS subcategories and correlation between DTS scores and parameters of tumor classification, sociodemographic variables and selected problems.
Distress was present in 57.7% of the sample, with a total of 52 patients with a DTS ≥ 5. The mean DTS was 4.7 (SD 2.4). Patients with newly diagnosed HNSCC had significantly higher DTS. Distress levels were significantly associated with sadness, general worries, anxiety, nervousness, sleeping disorders, mouth sores and fever. Out of the total sample, 6 patients and out of these 6 individuals, 5 patients with a DTS ≥ 5 requested referrals to psycho-oncological service.
High distress levels were common in HNSCC patients but only few patients desired psycho-oncological care. Addressing patients' supportive care needs in routine clinical practice is essential to meet unmet needs of HNSCC patients and thus improve cancer care.
在不同的癌症实体中，多项研究表明癌症对心理健康、心理幸福感的不良影响，以及增加癌症患者出现高度情绪困扰的风险。本研究旨在分析头颈部鳞状细胞癌（HNSCC）患者的社会心理困扰水平及其与社会人口统计学参数和痛苦温度计（DT）问题清单上选定项目之间的关系。
我们使用痛苦温度计（DT）问题清单评估了总共 120 名 HNSCC 患者。有 90 名患者的痛苦评分（DTS）可用。视觉模拟量表上的 DTS 为 5 分表示存在临床相关的痛苦。数据分析包括描述性统计、不同 DTS 子类别之间的均值比较以及 DTS 评分与肿瘤分类、社会人口统计学变量和选定问题之间的相关性。
57.7%的样本存在痛苦，共有 52 名患者的 DTS≥5。平均 DTS 为 4.7（SD 2.4）。新诊断为 HNSCC 的患者 DTS 显著更高。痛苦水平与悲伤、一般担忧、焦虑、紧张、睡眠障碍、口腔溃疡和发热显著相关。在总样本中，有 6 名患者和其中的 5 名患者 DTS≥5，要求转介到心理肿瘤学服务。
HNSCC 患者中普遍存在高度的痛苦水平，但只有少数患者需要心理肿瘤学护理。在常规临床实践中满足患者的支持性护理需求至关重要，以满足 HNSCC 患者的未满足需求，并从而改善癌症护理。
