Evaluación de la depresión en pacientes con cáncer terminal y su aplicación en el contexto mexicano: Una revisión

Abstract

SUMMARYDepression is one of the most common emotional problems in palliative patients. Due to the advanced nature of the disease, several physical symptoms presented by patients overlap with symptoms of depression, making it difficult to evaluate and diagnose the problem. The aim of this paper was to conduct a narrative review of the main instruments used to assess depression when it is present in palliative patients, with a special consideration of the Mexican context. Based on the available data and the scholarly literature, it is more appropriate to conduct an assessment of depression focused on emotional aspects than somatics aspects in palliative patients. Internationally, a number of depression assessments place greater emphasis on anhedonia and emotions, such as hopelessness, than on somatic aspects of depression. In Mexico, a considerable gap remains in the development of instruments to identify depression in the palliative setting. Finally, we describe alternative assessments of depression, which could be evaluated and considered in the future in the palliative care setting.

The Importance of Mental Health in the Mexican Public Health System

“…These studies demonstrate an association of some mental disorders in people suffering from chronic diseases such as cancer 6 inhabitants is distributed as shown in Table 1. Currently, mental health must be a priority within public policies that are implemented, providing citizens with quality, low cost or free services.…”

Trastorno depresivo en pacientes con diagnóstico de cáncer: revisión narrativa de la literatura

“…La escala hospitalaria de ansiedad y depresión (hads) es una de las escalas para valorar la depresión en pacientes con cáncer, se le ha utilizado en diversos estudios como gold standard para validar otro tipo de instrumentos (48).…”

“…Clásicamente se ha usado la escala de depresión de Beck, la cual evalúa sintomatología depresiva en pacientes con enfermedades crónicas y que se correlaciona altamente (48,49).…”

Anxiety, Depression, and Delirium in Terminally Ill Cancer Patient

“…Through this chapter, the great importance of timely detection of depression in cancer patients has been established. Achieving the correct diagnosis helps us carry out better management, not only of the symptoms caused by the oncological disease but also an adequate intervention regarding the symptoms of depression, allowing us even to achieve an intervention of some family members in the process [38].…”