Health-related quality of life of survivors of penetrating trunk trauma in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Abstract

To study how the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of survivors of penetrating trunk trauma (PTT) changes from pre-morbid status to 6months after hospital discharge and to determine differences in the HRQOL between subjects ventilated for short and prolonged periods of time. To determine how the HRQOL of PTT survivors compares with that of a healthy control group in order to identify limitations imposed by critical illness. Retrospective and observational prospective assessment of the quality of life (QoL) of PTT survivors with the Medical Outcomes Short Form-36 (SF-36) UK English version questionnaire. Cross-sectional assessment of the QoL of a healthy control group with the SF-36. The physical component summary (PCS) score was significantly reduced for the short mechanical ventilation (MV) group (n=13) at 1 and 3months compared to pre-admission status (p=0.00, respectively). The mental component summary (MCS) score was significantly reduced at 1, 3 and 6months (p=0.00, respectively). The PCS and MCS were significantly reduced for the long MV group (n=29) at all three assessments compared to the pre-admission HRQOL (p=0.00-0.01). The short MV group reported HRQOL comparable to that of the healthy group (n=40) at 6months after discharge. The long MV group had a significant reduction in the PCS at 1, 3 and 6months compared to the healthy group (p=0.00, respectively). The long MV group had significantly reduced PCS at 3 and 6months compared to the short MV group (p=0.01 and 0.00, respectively). Subjects who had higher morbidity and prolonged MV suffered from reduced HRQOL related to physical health for up to 6months after discharge.