Is it the time to implement the routine use of distress thermometer among Egyptian patients with newly diagnosed cancer?

Abstract

Background: The distress thermometer (DT) is an effective tool for identifying distress among cancer patients worldwide. However, DT has not been studied in Egyptian patients. We aimed to study the prevalence of distress among Egyptian patients with different types of cancers using DT.Methods: A total of 550 patients with newly diagnosed hematological and solid cancers who were followed up at 3 Oncology Centers in Egypt were enrolled. They completed a sociodemographic and clinical status questionnaire, the DT and the Problem List (PL) scale.Results: At a DT cut-off score of ≥4, 46% of patients had significant distress, which was related to the tumor site and stage. The most frequent problems reported were treatment decision (64.4%), worry (47%), and fears (44.5%). In univariate logistic regression analysis, participants who had significant distress described 23 out of 36 problems in the practical, family, emotional, and physical areas. After adjustment to sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, multivariable analysis confirmed that insurance, depression, fear, sadness, worry, loss of interest in usual activity, and sleep were independent factors associated with significant distress in cancer patientsConclusions: Almost half of Egyptian patients newly diagnosed with cancer reported significant distress. Those who had significant distress described extra problems in the practical, family, emotional, and physical areas. We recommend the routine use of DT for screening Egyptian patients with cancer, as well as the involvement of the psycho-oncology and social services, at the time of their initial diagnosis.

Utility of a modified distress thermometer in screening COVID-19 patients for psychological distress: A prospective Egyptian study

“…A p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Binary logistic regression test was carried out to explore the association between the m-DT cutoff scores of 4 [6,9] and the demographic and clinical variables, while binary and multivariable logistic regression tests were used to analyze the association between the m-DT cut-off scores and individual items in the PL.…”

“…DT is a single-item, self-report measure of distress that provides a brief, visual analog, non-invasive, valid, and acceptable alternative to longer and more burdensome psychometric instruments. Also, the PL can be used with the DT to provide words for psychological problems with non-stigmatizing connotations to identify possible contributing factors [4,6]. The PL offers the advantage of being brief enough to be easy for health professionals to use in daily practice.…”

“…The modified DS and PL were then used. The cutoff score of ≥4 for significant distress adopted by the recently validated Arabic version of DT [6,9] was used for screening COVID-19 patients of the current study for distress. The screening was carried out for those patients at their first out-patient visit or inpatient admission.…”

“…Overall patients is a 39-item supplemental list of potential sources of distress that is incorporated as an essential part of the assessment to assist the provider in identifying distress. As this PL provides a comprehensive list of categories, it covers almost all aspects that might attribute to distress among cancer patients [4][5][6]9,11]. Despite these advantages, we had speculated that modifying this DT and its PL into a more practical and less-time consuming list of only emotional and physical items directly related to the impacts of COVID-19 would reproduce a more valid and utilizable tool for assessment of the rapidly growing global pandemic of COVID-19.…”

“…Despite the apparent simplicity of the DT, it covers most-if, not all-problems that might be faced by any study population (populations with different racial, religious, social, and financial aspects), and worldwide. So, it is not surprising that DT has been successfully translated from English into several languages [6]. Because of its simplicity and easy application, DT has been used to screen non-cancer patients, as well.…”