Comparison of presentation and impact on quality of life of gastroesophageal reflux disease between young and old adults in a Chinese population

AIM:To compare the presentation and impact on qual-ity of life of gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD)in old and young age groups.METHODS:Data from adult patients with GERD di-agnosed by endoscopic and symptomic characteristics were collected between January and November 2009.Exclusion criteria included combined peptic ulcers,ma-lignancy,prior surgery,antacid medication for more than 2 mo,and pregnancy.Enrolled patients were assigned to the elderly group if they were 65 years or older,or the younger group if they were under 65 years.They had completed the GERD impact scale,the Chinese GERD questionnaire,and the SF-36 question-naire.Data from other cases without endoscopic f ind-ings or symptoms were collected and these subjects comprised the control group in our study.RESULTS:There were 111 patients with GERD and 44 normal cases:78(70.3%)and 33 patients(29.7%)were in the younger and elderly groups,respectively.There were more female patients(60.3%)in the younger group,and more males(72.7%)in the elderly group.The younger cases had more severe and fre-quent typical symptoms than the elderly patients.Sig-nif icantly more impairment of daily activities was noted in the younger patients compared with the elderly group,except for physical functioning.CONCLUSION:Elderly patients with GERD were pre-dominantly male with rare presentation of typical symp-toms,and had less impaired quality of life compared with younger patients in a Chinese population.

Neurosurgery in Parkinson's disease:Social adjustment, quality of life and coping strategies

Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation has become a standard neurosurgical therapy for ad- vanced Parkinson＇s disease. Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation can dramatically improve the motor symptoms of carefully selected patients with this disease. Surprisingly, some specific dimensions of quality of life, ＂psychological＂ aspects and social adjustment do not always improve, and they could sometimes be even worse. Patients and their families should fully understand that subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation can alter the motor status and time is needed to readapt to their new postoperative state and lifestyles. This paper reviews the literatures regarding effects of bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation on social adjustment, quality of life and coping strategies in patients with Parkinson＇s disease. The findings may help to understand the psychoso-cial maladjustment and poor improvement in quality of life in some Parkinson＇s disease patients.

The Quality of Life of Chinese Middle-Aged Male Patients with Gastric Carcinoma After Total Gastrectomy and Nursing Intervention

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of life （QOL） in Chinese middle-aged male patients with gastric carcinoma after total gastrectomy, to investigate the factors affecting their QOL, and to Study the effectiveness of nursing intervention.METHODS Structured questionnaire （EORTC QLQ-C30） was used among 162 middle-aged male patients after total gastrectomy （the patients finished the whole process of chemotherapy, and returned home, and society） for data collection and reevaluate the patients＇ aualitv of life with 2 months nursing intervention.RESULTS The patient＇s quality of life was related to their education level, economic condition, family support, and pathological staging. This study showed that patients got higher scores in Functional scales （except for CF）, and lower scores in Symptom scales and single items （except for FI） after receiving intervention than before it was received before.CONCLUSION The study revealed that the QOL in middleaged male patients after total gastrectomy was worse when there was inadequate attention. After implementing pertinent nursing intervention implementing, patients＇ mental attitude and negative behavior were improved, and their QOL was enhanced after returning home and into society.

Chronic fatigue is associated with increased disease-related worries and concerns in inflammatory bowel disease

AIM:To investigate the impact of chronic fatigue on disease-related worries in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the potential multicolinearity between subjective questionnaires.METHODS:Patients in remission or with mild-tomoderate disease activity completed the fatigue questionnaire (FQ),the rating form of IBD patient concerns (RFIPC),the Short-Form 36 (SF-36),and IBD questionnaire (N-IBDQ).In addition,clinical and epidemiological data were obtained.RESULTS:In total,140 patients were included;of which 92 were diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and 48 with Crohn's disease.The mean age of patients with chronic fatigue was 44.2 years (SD=15.8) and for non-fatigued patients was 44.7 years (SD=16.0).Chronic fatigued patients had clinically significantly increased levels of disease-related worries,as measured by Cohen's d effect size.Worries about having an ostomy bag,loss of bowel control,and energy levels were most prominent in both chronic fatigued and non-chronic fatigued IBD patients.Variance inflation factor (VIF) and tolerance indicated that there were no problematic multicolinearity among the FQ,RFIPC,SF-36 and N-IBDQ responses (VIF < 5 and tolerance > 2).CONCLUSION:Chronic fatigue is associated with increased levels of disease-related worries and concerns in IBD.Increased levels of worries were also associated with impaired health-related quality of life.

Different faces of gastroparesis

AIM： To test the hypothesis that pain and affect rather than impaired emptying determine symptom severity in patients with gastroparesis. METHODS： Adult patients with documented gastroparesis were enrolled prospectively in a single center and asked to complete the Gastroparesis Cardinal Symptom Index （GCSt）, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale （HADS）, the Short Form 12 （SF-12） as quality of life index, rate pain severity and answer 10 open-ended questions. RESULTS： A total of 55 patients （44 women） participated. Idiopathic （n = 29） or diabetic （n = 11） gastroparesis and connective tissue disease （n = 8） were the most common underlying causes. Antiemetics （n = 30） and prokinetics （n = 32） were most often prescribed. Seventeen patients used opioids on a daily basis. Nausea and/or vomiting （n = 28）, pain （n = 24） and bloating （n = 14） were most commonly listed as dominant symptoms. Patients subjectively attributed symptom improvement to nutritional and dietary therapy （n= 11）, prokinetics （n = 11）, antiemetics （n = 10） or analgesic agents （n = 3）. In univariate analyses, the physical subscore of the SF-12 and HADS, but not gastric emptying delay or symptom duration significantly correlated with disease severity as measured by the GCSI. In multivariate analyses, the combination of vomiting, bloating and depression best predicted the overall impact on quality of life. CONCLUSION： The study confirms the importance of pain and affect in gastroparesis, which requires novel approaches to improve more effectively the quality of life in patients with this disorder.

Effect of Feitai Capsule(肺泰胶囊) on Quality of Life and Progression-Free Survival of Patients with Unresectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Objective： To examine the effect of a Chinese medicinal herbal formula （Feitai Capsule, 肺泰胶囊） on the quality of life （QOL） and progression-free survival （PFS） of patients with unresectable non-small cell lung cancer （NSCLC）. Methods： Sixty-two patients were randomly divided into the treatment group （31 cases） and the control group （31 cases）. For the treatment group, 4 capsules （1.2 g/capsule） of Feitai Capsule were administered 3 times a day after meals for 3 weeks; then no drug was administered for 1 week. This schedule was continued for at least 3 more cycles （12 weeks totally）. If there were no obvious toxic reactions, the treatment was extended. The patients were evaluated at least once every 8 weeks until progressive dJsease （PD）. For the control group, the regular follow-up and evaluation were performed at least once every 8 weeks until PD. Clinical symptoms, objective response, physical constitution and energy, QOL, and PFS were evaluated regularly. Analysis of variance （ANOVA）, a non-parametric test, and analysis of covariance were used to compare clinical features, amelioration of clinical symptoms, physical constitution and energy, and QOL. Kaplan- Meier analysis was used to compare the two-group PFS. Results： Sixty patients finished the final evaluation, with 30 patients in each group. Baseline characters between groups were not significantly different （P〉0.05）. The control group had a 36.7% improvement in clinical symptoms, while the treatment group had a 73.3% improvement. This difference was statistically significant （Z=-2.632, P=0.008）. The control group had a 26.7% improvement in the Karnofsky performance status （KPS）, while the treatment group had a 53.4% improvement. This was also significantly different （Z=-2.182, P=0.029）. A comparative analysis indicated a positive correlation （r=0.917, P〈0.001）. Compared with the control group, QOL in the treatment group was significantly improved, except in the social/family condition and doctor-patient relationship indicators. The PFS of the treatment group and control group were 6.23 months and 4.67 months, respectively （P=0.048）. Conclusion： Feitai Capsule, a Chinese medicinal herbal treatment could improve the QOL and extend the PFS of the unresectable NSCLC patients.

Efficacy evaluation of summer acupoint application treatment on asthma patients: a two-year follow-up clinical study

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the self-efficacy and satisfaction of asthma patients subjected to summer acupoint application treatment(SAAT).METHODS: A two-year follow-up clinical study was conducted. Patients with asthma were treated by applying a herbal paste onto the Feishu(BL 13) and Fengmen(BL 12) acupoints on the three hottest days of summer, according to the traditional Chinese calendar, from 2008 to 2010. During a two-year follow-up, these patients were asked tofill out a questionnaire evaluating asthma degree,exacerbation frequency, concomitant medications and self-satisfaction. The self-rate and doctor-report outcomes obtained in parallel were evaluated to assess the efficacy of SAAT.RESULTS: A total of 527 asthma patients were initially enrolled in this study, of which 97 elderly patients and those with more severe cases of asthma were lost to follow-up. Thus, a total of 430 patients were valid for analysis using self-rate data. Nevertheless, occasional negative returns were obtained;almost all of the outcomes were rated as "No change", "Moderate effective", or "Very effective". In addition, 80% of the patients were satisfied with this treatment. Moreover, 391(91.4%) patients were somewhat improved after SAAT in 2009, and further improvement was observed in 2010. After SAAT, the average asthma-degree score decreased from 5.3 in 2008 to 4 in 2009 and, subsequently to3.5 in 2010.CONCLUSION: With pronounced patient satisfaction, SAAT can reduce the exacerbation severity and frequency, concomitant medications and asthma degree. Prolonging the treatment course might enhance the efficacy of SAAT.