Lan Romain, Silvestri Frédéric, Rhanoui Maryem, Bezier Cassandre, Fakhry Nicolas, Carrouel Florence, Mense Chloé
Aix-Marseille Univ CNRS, ADES, 13015 Marseille, France.
Functional Unit of Maxillo-Facial Prosthesis, Timone University Hospital, 13005 Marseille, France.
Cancers (Basel). 2024 Dec 17;16(24):4199. doi: 10.3390/cancers16244199.
Treatments for oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) often result in significant aesthetic and functional issues, impacting patients' quality of life (QoL). The COVID-19 pandemic's mask mandates may have provided psychosocial benefits by concealing facial disfigurements, potentially reducing stigma. This study aimed to assess the impact of mask-wearing on the QoL of patients surgically treated for OSCC. This single-center, cross-sectional study, conducted from June 2022 to December 2023, included patients who had completed their treatment and returned home before or during the mask-wearing mandate. They answered a questionnaire using a four-point Likert scale to evaluate the mask-wearing's impact on QoL and the influence on it of physical appearance, tumor localization, radiotherapy, and treatment end date. The questionnaire analysis found a high internal consistency among the questions (Cronbach's alpha = 0.931). Considering 41 patients (median age 69, 63% male), wearing a mask significantly improved QoL, with a mean score of 1.66 compared to a score of 2.00 for patients not wearing it ( < 0.001). This improvement was particularly notable for appearance concerns, fear of perception by family or others, and sociability apprehension. The QoL, with or without mask use, was not significantly modified when considering physical appearance, tumor localization, radiotherapy, or end date of the treatment, as demonstrated by two-way ANOVA tests and multiple linear regression. Mask-wearing positively impacted QoL in OSCC patients, providing psychological relief from disfigurement and social stigma. Masks offer a simple, accessible solution to enhance QoL while awaiting a definitive prosthetic treatment, suggesting that their continued use could be beneficial in supportive care strategies.
口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）的治疗常常会导致严重的美观和功能问题，影响患者的生活质量（QoL）。新冠疫情期间的口罩强制令可能通过掩盖面部畸形带来了心理社会益处，潜在地减少了耻辱感。本研究旨在评估佩戴口罩对接受手术治疗的OSCC患者生活质量的影响。这项单中心横断面研究于2022年6月至2023年12月进行，纳入了在口罩强制令实施之前或期间完成治疗并回家的患者。他们使用四点李克特量表回答了一份问卷，以评估佩戴口罩对生活质量的影响以及身体外观、肿瘤位置、放疗和治疗结束日期对其的影响。问卷分析发现问题之间具有较高的内部一致性（克朗巴哈系数=0.931）。考虑到41名患者（中位年龄69岁，63%为男性），佩戴口罩显著改善了生活质量，平均得分为1.66，而未佩戴口罩的患者得分为2.00（<0.001）。这种改善在外观担忧、对家人或他人看法的恐惧以及社交忧虑方面尤为显著。通过双向方差分析测试和多元线性回归表明，无论是否使用口罩，在考虑身体外观、肿瘤位置、放疗或治疗结束日期时，生活质量均无显著变化。佩戴口罩对OSCC患者的生活质量产生了积极影响，减轻了面部畸形和社会耻辱带来的心理负担。口罩提供了一种简单、可及的解决方案，在等待确定性修复治疗期间提高生活质量，这表明继续使用口罩可能对支持性护理策略有益。
