Global and Multidimensional Symptom Assessments in Patients Presenting Abdominal Neoplasms

Ana Lucia Lira,Raphael Mendonça Guimarães,Thais Martins,Camila Drumond,Daniela Guimarães,Marianne Regina Silva,Thalyta Cássia De Freitas

doi:10.5294/aqui.2019.19.1.4

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate symptoms among patients with abdominal cancer and associated factors. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study with 100 patients. The prevalence of symptoms was evaluated through the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS) and its association with demographic and clinical variables using chi-square and ANOVA tests. Results: The most prevalent symptoms were weight loss (64.0 %), pain (56.0 %), dry mouth (50.0 %), “I do not look more myself” (48.0 %) and lack of energy (45.0 %). There was a significant difference between sex and high-frequency (PHYS-H) (p = 0.001) and low-frequency (PHYS-L) physical symptoms (p = 0.004), and for general scale (TMSAS) (p = 0.002); (p = 0.001), general range (p = 0.027) and borderline significance for the global scale (GDI) (p = 0.051); high-frequency physical symptoms (p = 0.022), low-frequency physical symptoms (p = 0.034) and the overall scale (p = 0.034). There was one major complaint regarding the severity of high-frequency physical symptoms in patients with liver cancer (p = 0.018). Conclusion: Symptoms of physical and psychological aspects in cancer patients were associated with gender, race, marital status and tumor location. There is a need for tools to assess symptoms and enable health professionals to intervene more effectively.

Highlights

Cancer, a collection of over 100 diseases that have in common disordered cell growth and the ability to invade tissues and organs, is a chronic-degenerative disease, is currently considered a public health problem in both developed and undeveloped countries that affects several dimensions of human life [1]
The exclusion criteria comprised patients with cognitive disorders previously evaluated through the Mini-Mental exam, those in a position to compromise the veracity of the answers and individuals presenting neoplasia or metastasis to the Central Nervous System (CNS) whose information was obtained through medical records
The present study aimed to evaluate the most frequent symptoms presented by patients diagnosed with abdominal cancer by applying the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS)-BR scale

Summary

Introduction

A collection of over 100 diseases that have in common disordered cell growth and the ability to invade tissues and organs, is a chronic-degenerative disease, is currently considered a public health problem in both developed and undeveloped countries that affects several dimensions of human life [1]. Chronic non-communicable diseases are responsible for most of the world’s deaths, and cancer is believed to be the major cause, becoming the main barrier to life expectancy evolution worldwide in the 21st century. The burden of diseases associated with cancer indicates that it is the first or second cause of premature deaths (before the age of 70) in 52.9 % of the world’s countries, and 58.1 % in Latin America [2]. Patients with uncontrolled symptoms present significant losses in quality of life. Symptoms that are identified late and left untreated are directly related to changes in patient functional capacity, worsening of quality of life and repercussions in the reduction of the overall survival of these subjects. Adapted scales are an effective way of measuring certain phenomena [6]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion