The quality of life of patients with diabetic foot ulcer reflects the conditions and healthcare system in each of the Visegrad countries. We have to respect socio-demographic factors and clinical characteristics in nursing care. This could have an impact on managing patient care not only with regard to their diabetic foot ulcer but also with regard to the patient as a personality with their own problems in relation to physical, psychosocial and environmental conditions.

From the increasing number of women who recovered from breast cancer arises more academic interest in their subjective opinions about the quality of their life (QL), particularly the physical, psychological, and social aspects of it. Our aim in this study was to evaluate the QL of Polish women after mastectomy. The research was performed on 480 randomly chosen patients who had been subjected to surgical treatment. The functional assessment of cancer therapy (FACT) scale version 4 and hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) were used during the research procedure. The lowest results within the global opinion of QL were obtained within the emotional sphere. The most frequent mental states experienced by the examined patients were worry, sadness, nervousness, fear, and depression.

Somatostatin analogues (SSAs) are the largest contributor to the direct medical cost of acromegaly management worldwide. The aim of this review was to identify and report available evidence on the cost-effectiveness of SSAs in the treatment of acromegaly. Areas covered: A literature search on relevant papers published up to April 2018 was performed. A total of 22 eligible studies (10 full-text articles and 12 conference abstracts) conducted in 14 countries were included in the analysis. In majority of studies, modelling technique was the principal research method. Expert commentary: The results of cost-effectiveness analyses: 1) support published recommendations where SSAs are indicated as first-line medical treatment for patients with persistent disease after surgery or who are not eligible for surgery; 2) suggest that preoperative medical therapy with SSAs may be highly cost-effective in acromegalic patients with macroadenoma, in centres without optimal surgical results 3) indicate that in some countries pasireotide and pegvisomant appeared to be cost-effective or even dominant strategies in comparison to first-generation SSAs. The main limitation of economic evaluations was the lack of high-quality studies designed to directly compare various treatment strategies in acromegaly.

The aim was to assess the impact of the most frequent cancer-related causes of death in Poland by estimating the years of potential life lost (YPLL) and to compare different measures of the burden of cancer deaths on the population. Material and methods: Mortality rate, YPLL and mean YPLL were calculated for the 11 most frequently recorded cancer-related causes of death in Poland. YPLL were measured applying the up-to-date reference life tables proposed by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and used in the Global Burden of Disease study (GBD 2015). Absolute numbers of cancer deaths by site, gender and five-year age groups were obtained from the Polish National Cancer Registry (2015). Results: In 2015 the total YPLL amounted to 1,990,457, with 23.6% from lung and bronchial cancer. Mean YPLL was 19.79 years and varied considerably according to tumour site (26.12 [brain]-14.3 [prostate]). Three tumour sites (brain, ovarian and kidney) are positioned higher according to mean YPLL than according to YPLL percentage and mortality percentage. Conclusions: Our results draw attention to the impact of cancer on society and individual patients. Addressing research efforts to prevention and/or treatment of major YPLL causes could result in a substantial impact on general life expectancy.

2Kierownik obydwu zakładów: prof. dr hab. s. GłuszekThe increase in prevalence of chronic diseases in old age is concomitant with increasing risk of neoplasms requiring surgical treatment. the aim of the study was to assess the indications, treatment outcomes, complications and mortality associated with surgical treatment of patients aged 85 or more, with special consideration of colorectal cancer. material and methods. The retrospective analysis involved a group of 94 patents (x = 88.9) aged 85 or more and treated surgically in the years 2006-2011. The results were compared with a randomly selected control group of 91 patients aged 45-75 (x = 56,4) and treated surgically in the same period. Results. Neoplastic diseases in the study group (85 ≥), compared with the control group (< 75), were a significantly more frequent indication for surgical treatment (p < 0.01). In the group of patients aged 85 or more, the most frequent indications for elective surgery were neoplasms of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (26.4%) and gastrointestinal neoplasms, mainly colorectal cancer (23.5%). Postoperative complications were significantly more frequent (p < 0.01) among patients aged 85 or more (n = 27; 34.8%) than in the younger group (n = 17; 18.7%). Postoperative mortality among patients undergoing emergency surgery was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the senior group than in the group of younger patients. Conclusions. Surgical procedures in patients aged 85 or more are most frequently performed in the emergency setting, and their most common cause are neoplastic diseases. Emergency surgical treatment in patients aged 85 or more is associated with a significantly higher risk, compared with younger age groups, of developing multi-organ postoperative complications, usually leading to death. Elective surgical treatment in patients aged 85+ after appropriate preoperative preparation and in the group of younger patients shows similar early outcomes.