Quality of Life and Depression in Patients Undergoing Total and Partial Laryngectomy

Abstract

BRAZ DAS et al. Quality of life and depression in patients undergoing total and partial laryngectomy. CLINICS 60(2):135-142, 2005. PURPOSE: The surgical treatment of head and neck cancer, primarily laryngeal cancer, causes sequelae and can change the patient´s quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of laryngectomy on the quality of life regarding the functional, physical, psychological, and social aspects. METHODS: Fourteen patients underwent total laryngectomy and 16 underwent vertical partial laryngectomy. The Quality of Life Core Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) and Head and Neck (H&N35) questionnaire from the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) were used for quality of life evaluation, while the Beck Depression Inventory questionnaire was used for the depression screen. RESULTS: In the total laryngectomy group, reported adverse effects were worsened, social and emotional function (21.3%), olfaction and taste changes (85.6%), cough (71.3%), speech difficulty (100%), and dysphagia (64.3%). Most of the patients (85.5%) judged their quality of life to be reasonable. In the partial laryngectomy group, reported adverse effects were worsened, emotional function (71.4%), speech difficulty (100%), and dysphagia (31.3%). However, most of the patients judged their quality of life to be above the general average. CONCLUSION: Despite being different surgeries, both groups experienced similar difficulties but at different levels. The quality of life was judged worse in the patients who underwent total laryngectomy.

Personality Traits, Anger and Psychiatric Symptoms Related to Quality of Life in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Digestive System Cancer

“…Patients with gastrointestinal cancer show a decrease in QOL due to the presence of anguish, anxiety and depression symptoms (41,42) and those with laryngeal cancer and who underwent total or partial laryngectomy also present a deficit in social and emotional functions in QOL scores (9) and in people with gastric cancer, hopelessness is observed as a major impact on QOL (34) .…”

“…Quality of life. and who underwent total or partial laryngectomy also present a deficit in social and emotional functions in QOL scores (9) and in people with gastric cancer, hopelessness is observed as a major impact on QOL (34) .In fact, emotional reactions to cancer are important aspects in understanding the patient's QOL. A study (31) with 68 newly diagnosed head and neck cancer patients were consecutively selected to declare their perceptions about the disease and the own quality of life; it was concluded that the more concerned the patient was with the physical symptoms the more intense was the emotional reactions related to the disease, and the lower was the QOL scores.…”

“…Quality of life. and who underwent total or partial laryngectomy also present a deficit in social and emotional functions in QOL scores (9) and in people with gastric cancer, hopelessness is observed as a major impact on QOL (34) .…”

Evaluation of Quality of Life Related to I-131 Therapy in Patients with Well-Differentiated Thyroid Cancer and Emphasis in Salivary Morbidity: A Follow up Study after Treatment

“…One must consider as well that xerostomia may be influenced by psychological and somatic states, and by the hydration status of the patient, among other factors [11] [27]. However, such concerns shall be related to the consequences they entail, such as speech problems, identified through the application of QLQ-H&N35, and greater chance of tooth decay and consequently infections, compromising oral health.…”

Disfonias orgânicas por neoplasias: análise de diagramas de desvio fonatório

“…Consequently, individuals submitted to partial laryngectomy present changes in the laryngeal physiology producing a different sound signal which could not be compared to an integral laryngeal voice 4 . Vocal impairment may also interfere in speech intelligibility 5 . For the assessment of quality of voice, two important sources may be used: the perceptual and the acoustic analysis.…”