Qualidade de vida em deglutição e escala de funcionalidade de pacientes oncológicos em cuidados paliativos

Abstract

Introduction: functionality in cancer patients is affected both by the progression of the disease and by the treatment itself, whether or not they are in palliative care. It is known that the progression of cancer can trigger difficulty in swallowing and have a negative impact on quality of life. Purpose: to correlate functional performance and the impact of swallowing complaints on the quality of life of cancer patients. Method: a dissertation structured in two articles, with a cross-sectional and quantitative approach. The first study (1) included only patients with non-localized head and neck cancer (NSCLC) who reported swallowing complaints and were in palliative care. The second study (2) included cancer patients who complained of swallowing, separated into groups of HNC and NSCLC diagnoses. The variables were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, using Pearson's correlation, Spearman's correlation and the Mann-Whitney test, at a 5% significance level. Results of article 1: 39 patients took part, 29 from the outpatient clinic and 10 from the ward. A positive and moderate correlation was identified between the results of the M. D. Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) and the level of functionality according to the Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) in outpatients. Results of article 2: four patients diagnosed with CCP took part and eight patients with CNCP were selected from the database for a 1:2 comparison. A statistically significant difference was found between the two groups for the MDADI and the global and physical domains, while no difference was found between the groups for the PPS scale. Conclusion: It can be concluded that cancer patients at the palliative care outpatient clinic showed a correlation between functional performance and the impact of the perception of swallowing difficulties on quality of life. It can also be concluded from the second article that there was a different perception of the complaint in each group and that in this study, the determining factor for the severity of this perception was the location of the tumor, rather than functionality.