Functional Assessment Of Chronic Therapy Research Articles

Long-term assessment of functional capacity, muscle function, lung function, and quality of life in survivors of ventilator-associated pneumonia

Background and objectiveThe many patients who develop ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) have generated numerous VAP survivors who are not followed up in the long term. This study aimed, primarily, to evaluate the long-term functional capacity, as measured using the Glittre-ADL test (TGlittre), of VAP survivors and, secondarily, to calculate the correlations of TGlittre with muscle and lung function. MethodsThis cross-sectional study evaluated 30 VAP survivors 10 months after discharge from the intensive care unit. The participants underwent the following assessments: TGlittre; respiratory muscle strength; handgrip strength (HGS); spirometry; Functional Assessment of Chronic Therapy (FACIT-F); and Short Form-36 (SF-36). ResultsThe median TGlittre time was 95 (81–130)% of predicted, and 30 % of the participants performed poorly on TGlittre. One-third of the participants had abnormal spirometry results. TGlittre time was correlated with weight (rs = −0.412, P = 0.023), body index mass (BMI, rs = −0.400, P = 0.029), forced vital capacity (FVC, rs = −0.401, P = 0.030), HGS (rs = −0.571, P = 0.0009), FACIT-F score (rs = −0.405, P = 0.026), and different SF-36 domain scores. Participants who returned to work had a shorter TGlittre time than those who did not (89 (69–104) vs. 129 (102–183)% predicted). Multiple linear regression indicated that FVC and BMI explained 39 % of TGlittre variability. ConclusionVAP survivors had suboptimal functional capacity, low lung function, and general fatigue 10 months after discharge. The longer the TGlittre time was, the worse the lung function, muscle function, general fatigue, and quality of life were and the less likely the patient was to have returned to work.

Quality of life and psychological impact among chronic disease patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: Patients diagnosed with chronic disease may experience psychological symptoms including depression, anxiety, insomnia, and fatigue, all of which may adversely affect their quality of life (QoL). The main objective of this study is to identify the level of QoL, to know the prevalence of these symptoms among chronic disease patients in Oman during the third wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and to explore the contributing factors.Methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive correlational design was used. Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants. Data were collected using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Therapy (FACT)–General, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Insomnia Severity Index, and the FACT–Fatigue subscale via Qualtrics® software. Linear regression analyses were used to explore factors that were associated with QoL.Results: Of 990 patients with chronic disease who participated, the mean total QoL score was 67.7 (standard deviation = 16.1). Participants aged above 51, those with a basic education, those with heart disease, or those with more than one comorbidity had a significantly lower QoL. Linear regression revealed that the main factors associated with lower QoL included heart disease (β = 0.05, P = 0.02), diabetes (β = 0.12, P < 0.01), having taken one dose of COVID-19 vaccine (β = 0.05, P = 0.04), anxiety (β = −0.24, P < 0.01), depression (β = −0.31, P < 0.01), insomnia (β = −0.12, P < 0.01), and fatigue (β = 0.27, P < 0.01).Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reduced the individuals' level of QoL and affected the mental health of patients diagnosed with chronic diseases. Appropriate strategies to monitor psychological problems and interventions to prevent and reduce these among such patients are needed.

Aumento da fadiga e redução da qualidade de vida após tratamento de câncer do colo do útero

Introdução: o câncer do colo do útero (CCU) acarreta prejuízos físicos e emocionais, sendo um grande problema de saúde pública. Objetivo: avaliar fadiga, capacidade funcional e qualidade de vida antes e após o tratamento com quimiorradioterapia para o CCU. Métodos: a avaliação de fadiga e qualidade de vida foi realizada por meio dos questionários: Inventário Breve de Fadiga (BFI) e Functional Assessment of Chronic Therapy – Cervix Cancer (FACT-Cx), respectivamente, já a capacidade funcional por mensuração direta pelo Teste do degrau (TD6). Participaram 11 mulheres com CCU. O Graphpad Prism® foi utilizado para estatística. Resultados: após a quimiorradioterapia houve aumento significativo da fadiga (de 2,80 para 4,83), redução significativa da qualidade de vida (de 107,8 para 88,1) e redução da capacidade funcional (de 91 degraus para 82 degraus). Conclusão: aumento da fadiga e redução da qualidade de vida foram observados uma semana após a realização de quimiorradioterapia para o CCU.

Quick-FLIC: validation of a short questionnaire for assessing quality of life of cancer patients

A practically useful measure of quality of life should be simple and quick to complete. A shortened Chinese version of the Functional Living Index – Cancer (FLIC) was recently proposed and was called Quick-FLIC. This study aims to assess the measurement properties of the Quick-FLIC. A total of 190 patients who received care from the National Cancer Centre of Singapore completed a questionnaire package at baseline. Patients filled in a retest questionnaire on average 2 weeks after baseline to assess test–retest reliability and responsiveness to change. The Quick-FLIC scores correlated well with the Functional Assessment of Chronic Therapy – General scores (r=0.78). Patients with different treatment status, performance status and self-rated health had significantly different Quick-FLIC scores in the expected directions (ANOVA; each P<0.001). Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.87) and 2-week test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation=0.81) were also satisfactory. The measure was responsive to changes in health status (P<0.001). The Quick-FLIC is a valid and reliable measure of health-related quality of life of cancer patients. The shortening of established health-related quality of life instruments should be considered in order to reduce the burden of having patients to answer lengthy questionnaires.