Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the quality of life in its different domains among cancer patients in relation to their treatment modality.Methods: A convenience sample of 200 patients with cancer was selected, 100 patients were on chemotherapy and the other 100 were on radiotherapy. Data was obtained through direct interview, using FACT-G questionnaire, version 4, and was managed through a statistical program, using appropriate statistical tests. Results:The emotional domain was the least affected one in both study groups (P = 0.800), while the physical domain reflected a significant statistical differences (P < 0.001); it was mildly affected in 92% of those with radiotherapy and moderately affected in 47% of those on chemotherapy. The social and functional domains were the most badly affected with a significant difference in the functional domain only (P <0.001) where 93% of those on radiotherapy being badly affected. The functional well-being of breast cancer was more affected among those with radiotherapy (P = 0.039), while the physical domains of quality of life of patients with gastrointestinal tract cancer was more badly affected by chemotherapy (P = 0.001). Conclusion:Patients on chemotherapy are more badly affected in some domains of quality of life, compared to those on radiotherapy. The emotional domain of QoL was the least affected, while the social and functional domains were the most badly affected ones among cancer patients, whether they were treated with radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

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Background and objective: Diabetic patients could be at increased risk of functional disability, which needs good control of blood glucose and other risk factors and the quality of life of diabetic patients especially those who had complications is remarkably lower than the quality of life of the general population. This study was conducted to assess the quality of life of diabetic patients in its different domains from the patient's perspective in Erbil city. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 160 diabetic patients were randomly selected from Layla Qassim diabetic health center. The WHO (WHO QOL-BREF) questionnaire was used as the main tool for data collection, which included26 questions on four domains of health-related quality of life (physical, psychological, social and environmental domains). Results: Around 49% of the patients had checked their blood sugar regularly and had better scores in the social domain (P = 0.036). Diabetic patients of all age groups had low scores in all domains of quality of life, with the lowest mean score in the psychological domain. Females reported significantly higher scores in the environmental domain (P = 0.001). Patients with insufficient monthly family income had lower scores in the social (P = 0.001), psychological (P = 0.031) and environmental (P = 0.039) domains. There was no obvious statistical association between clinical characteristics of the patients and the quality of life domains. However, those with complications had lower scores in the psychological domain, with a higher proportion (P = 0.016) of complications in females. Conclusion: All domains of quality of life are affected by diabetes mellitus, with no clear, consistent statistical association between clinical characteristics of the patients and the quality of life of various domains, which emphasize the need for more multidisciplinary team action for more patient`s education and self-care.

Background and objective: Scabies, known as the seven-year itch, is a contagious skin infestation by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei that causes a pruritic skin eruption. Scabies is endemic in most of the communities of the developing world. This study aimed to assess the quality of life of scabies patients, taking into consideration the demographic profile and clinical presentation of patients in Erbil. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 107 scabies patients attending a private dermatology clinic were recruited. Dermatology Quality of Life Index questionnaire was used for data collection. Results: More than half (51.4%) of the patients were less than 30 years of age, including 58.9% males, 70.1% of them were married, and 67.3% were living in the urban area. More than 84% of the study sample’s quality of life was very large and extremely large affected. The overall mean of the quality of life scores was 14.95±4.5 with no significant association between the overall quality of life scores to disease severity and certain sociodemographic characteristics of the patients. The mean scores of the two domains of embarrassment and shopping were significantly associated with the male gender (P = 0.003 and 0.021, respectively). However, 40.2%, 35.5%, and 29% of the patients reported that the disease affected very much on their shopping, clothing, and working activities, respectively. Conclusion: The disease had caused a significant effect on patients' lives, with no significant association between the severity of the disease and overall quality of life scores. The disease in its mild, moderate, and severe forms adversely affected patient lives. The commonest quality of life scores were those in the range of 11-20. Keywords: Quality of life; Scabies; Erbil; Iraq.

We discuss a case of a 58 year old male who presented for left upper extremity steal syndrome including ischemic monomelic neuropathy (IMN) 1.5 months after arteriovenous fistula creation. He presented after three surgical attempts to salvage his fistula with rest pain, complete loss of function with contracture of the 4th and 5th digits, and loss of sensation in the ulnar distribution for more than three weeks. At our institution, he underwent surgical ligation of the distal fistula and creation of a new fistula proximally, resulting in complete resolution of his vascular steal symptoms almost immediately despite the chronicity prior to surgical presentation. Our patient provides a unique perspective regarding dialysis access salvage versus patient quality of life. The patients’ functional status and pain levels should take precedence over salvage of an arteriovenous access site, and early ligation of the access should be completed prior to chronic IMN development. However, if a patient presents late along the IMN course, we recommend strong consideration of access ligation in order to attempt to regain the full neurovascular function of the extremity as we experienced in our patient.