Gonçalves Florbela, Gaudêncio Margarida, Paiva Ivo, Semedo Valéria Andrade, Rego Francisca, Nunes Rui
Portuguese Institute of Oncology Francisco Gentil Coimbra, 3000-075 Coimbra, Portugal.
Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal.
Healthcare (Basel). 2024 Dec 9;12(23):2487. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12232487.
Uncontrolled symptoms are widely recognized as one of the main challenges in oncology palliative care patients. The central aim of palliative care is to improve the patient's quality of life. In recent years, there has been a growing use of patient-reported outcome measures in palliative care, particularly to evaluate symptoms, quality of care, and well-being.
To evaluate the sociodemographic and clinical profile, symptom distress, and perceived quality of life in oncology palliative care patients admitted to a specialized palliative care unit in Portugal.
This study was cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational, carried out in the inpatient setting of the palliative care unit at a tertiary oncology hospital (at admission). The evaluated protocol included a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire, as well as two measurement instruments: the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and the Palliative Care Outcome Scale (POS), both filled out by the patients. Data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics version 25.0, with a significance level set at 5% ( < 0.05).
The majority of participants in this sample were male (61.7%), with a mean age of around 72 years. More than half of the patients admitted (n = 34; 56.7%) were being monitored in outpatient care. Digestive and head and neck cancers were the most commonly found in the sample (41.7% and 20%, respectively). A significant correlation was found between high symptom intensity and poorer quality of life and care ( < 0.01). This association was particularly pronounced for symptoms such as pain, weakness, depression, anxiety, and anorexia.
This study revealed a positive correlation between overall symptom severity and a perceived deterioration in quality of life, well-being, and quality of care. Future studies should consider utilizing alternative assessment tools for evaluating symptoms and quality of care. Additionally, including non-cancer palliative patients in similar studies may provide further valuable insights.
症状未得到控制被广泛认为是肿瘤姑息治疗患者面临的主要挑战之一。姑息治疗的核心目标是提高患者的生活质量。近年来，患者报告结局测量在姑息治疗中的应用越来越广泛，尤其是用于评估症状、护理质量和幸福感。
评估入住葡萄牙一家专门姑息治疗病房的肿瘤姑息治疗患者的社会人口学和临床特征、症状困扰以及感知生活质量。
本研究为横断面、描述性和相关性研究，在一家三级肿瘤医院的姑息治疗病房住院患者中进行（入院时）。评估方案包括一份社会人口学和临床问卷，以及两份测量工具：埃德蒙顿症状评估量表（ESAS）和姑息治疗结局量表（POS），均由患者填写。使用IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0版本进行数据分析，显著性水平设定为5%（<0.05）。
该样本中的大多数参与者为男性（61.7%），平均年龄约为72岁。超过一半的入院患者（n = 34；56.7%）正在接受门诊监测。样本中最常见的癌症类型是消化道癌和头颈癌（分别为41.7%和20%）。发现症状强度高与生活质量和护理质量较差之间存在显著相关性（<0.01）。这种关联在疼痛、虚弱、抑郁、焦虑和厌食等症状方面尤为明显。
本研究揭示了总体症状严重程度与生活质量、幸福感和护理质量感知恶化之间存在正相关。未来的研究应考虑使用替代评估工具来评估症状和护理质量。此外，在类似研究中纳入非癌症姑息治疗患者可能会提供更有价值的见解。
