INTRODUÇÃO: Existem dúvidas e controvérsias em relação à falta de controle clínico dos pacientes portadores de asma grave. Neste estudo avaliamos a proporção de asmáticos graves que atingem o controle com seguimento supervisionado e tratamento padronizado. Comparamos a inflamação das vias aéreas através do escarro induzido e do óxido nítrico exalado em pacientes que atingem o controle da asma em comparação aos não controlados. Avaliamos também o impacto do controle sobre o estado de saúde e comparamos o comportamento psicossocial (ansiedade e depressão) entre os pacientes controlados e não controlados. MÉTODOS: Os pacientes foram selecionados no ambulatório de asma da Pneumologia porque apresentavam asma grave não controlada apesar de tratamento de acordo com as diretrizes de tratamento da asma. Avaliamos as características clínicas, funcionais, inflamatórias, controle da asma, qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde e ansiedade e depressão, na condição basal, após as 2 semanas de corticosteróide oral e ao final do tratamento otimizado por via inalatória. RESULTADOS: Cento e vinte e oito pacientes foram elegíveis, 74 incluídos e 54 completaram o protocolo. Destes, 36 (66,7%) pacientes foram classificados em grupo não controlado e 18 (33,3%) controlados. Na inclusão, o grupo que não se controlou apresentou mais mulheres, maior porcentagem de ex-tabagistas, menor porcentagem de dias livres de sintomas e maior porcentagem de mulheres com piora da asma no período menstrual. Os pacientes dos dois grupos apresentavam alta utilização do sistema de saúde e várias comorbidades. Após o tratamento padronizado, não se observou diferença nos parâmetros de função pulmonar, escarro induzido e óxido nítrico exalado entre os grupos. No grupo não controlado, o curso de corticosteróide oral promoveu redução significativa dos eosinófilos no escarro induzido, mas com aumento destes após a retirada da medicação oral, embora sem significância estatística. O óxido nítrico exalado não se alterou com o tratamento, mantendo-se normal nos dois grupos durante todo o acompanhamento. Os pacientes apresentavam baixa qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde, com melhora significativa nos dois grupos. Observamos alta porcentagem de pacientes com ansiedade moderada, que não se alterou com o tratamento da asma. CONCLUSÕES: Pacientes com asma grave não controlada podem atingir o controle clínico quando submetidos à intervenção proposta. Mas 2/3 dos nossos pacientes não atingiram o controle. Apresentaram características semelhantes aos de outras coortes internacionais, grande utilização dos recursos da saúde e baixa qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde. A inflamação eosinofílica responde ao uso de corticosteróide oral. O óxido nítrico exalado pode estar normal em pacientes com asma grave e inflamação eosinofílica persistente. A intervenção proposta melhorou a qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde nestes pacientes, mas não apresentou impacto na ansiedade / INTRODUCTION: There are doubts and open questions about low achieve control in severe asthma patients. In this study we evaluated the proportion of severe asthmatics who achieve control status after a systematic follow-up protocol and standardized treatment. We compared airway inflammation according to induced sputum and exhaled nitric oxide in controlled and non-controlled patients. We also evaluated the impact of control status on health related quality of life and compared the psychosocial behavior (anxiety and depression) between groups. METHODS: Patients were selected on outpatient asthma clinic of Pulmonary Division. They had severe asthma and underwent a systematic follow-up protocol with standardized treatment. We evaluated clinical, functional and inflammatory characteristics, asthma control, health related quality of life and anxiety and depression symptoms in baseline, after two weeks of oral corticosteroid and at the end of the follow-up, with inhaled corticosteroid plus long acting beta 2 agonist. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty eight patients were eligible, 74 included and 54 completed the follow-up period. Among this, 36 (66.7%) patients were classified as non-controlled and 18 (33.3%) controlled. At the inclusion non-controlled group had significantly higher female and ex-smokers prevalence, less percentage of days free of symptoms and higher frequency of females with menstrual worsening of asthma symptoms. Both groups had high health care use and several comobidities. There was not any significant difference in pulmonary function, induced sputum and exhaled nitric oxide between the two groups after standardized treatment. Induced sputum eosinophils had a significant reduction after oral corticosteroid trial in non-controlled patients but there was impairment after oral steroid withdrawn, but without statistic significance. Exhaled nitric oxide did not change with treatment and was normal in both groups during the follow-up period. Patients had low health related quality of life but with significant improvement on two groups. We observed high prevalence of patients with moderate anxiety which did not change with asthma treatment. CONCLUSION: Non-controlled severe asthma patients can achieve clinical control after proposed standardized protocol. But 2/3 of our patients did not achieve clinical control. Our patients share characteristics with others international cohorts, had high health care utilization and low health related quality of life. Induced sputum eosinophilia showed an improvement after oral corticosteroid trial. Exhaled nitric oxide may be normal in severe asthmatics with persistent eosinophilc inflammation. There was an improvement on health related quality of life with asthma treatment but no change was observed on anxiety

O tratamento radioterápico é considerado como uma das modalidades terapêuticas padrão para os cânceres de cabeça e pescoço, cujo objetivo é controlar a evolução do tumor com o menor dano possível aos tecidos e órgãos normais adjacentes, porém, apesar de apresentar a vantagem de preservar a estrutura dos tecidos, pode acarretar reações adversas que se manifestam na cavidade oral, e também efeitos colaterais físicos generalizados, sendo a fadiga o mais comum. Objetivo: avaliar a efetividade da Prática Integrativa e Complementar - Relaxamento com Visualização Guiada, sobre a redução do sintoma de fadiga e melhora da Qualidade de Vida Relacionada à Saúde, durante o tratamento radioterápico. Método: estudo quantitativo, quase-experimental, de corte longitudinal e prospectivo, com a participação de 102 pacientes em início de tratamento radioterápico, com a alocação intencional em dois grupos, o de Intervenção (n=42) e o de Comparação (n=60). Apenas os participantes do Grupo Intervenção realizaram a prática de relaxamento com visualização guiada durante o tratamento radioterápico, porém, todos os participantes responderam aos questionários de avaliação. Foram utilizados os questionários de Qualidade de Vida Relacionada à Saúde (FACT H&N) e a Escala de Fadiga de Piper Revisada. A prática de relaxamento com visualização guiada foi aplicada pela pesquisadora do estudo, por meio de uma gravação de áudio contendo comandos verbais, os quais guiavam o paciente para a realização da prática. Para avaliar o efeito da intervenção entre os grupos intervenção e de controle, foi utilizada a técnica de regressão logística multinomial, estimando razões de chance (odds ratios) por pontos e respectivos erros-padrão (Ep). Resultados: na etapa descritiva dos dados sociodemográficos e clínicos, evidenciou-se a predominância do sexo masculino, faixa etária entre 41 e 60 anos, baixo nível de escolaridade, aposentados, católicos, em uso regular de álcool e tabaco, câncer de orofaringe, em estádio IV. Foram evidenciadas diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre os grupos em relação às variáveis procedência, estado civil e \"tipo de cirurgia\" e os valores-p foram, respectivamente, p=0,000, p= 0,002 e p=0,027. Na etapa analítica evidenciou-se que o relaxamento com visualização guiada mostrou-se efetivo em especial para os domínios global, comportamental e sensorial na segunda aplicação (T2), e afetivo e sensorial na terceira aplicação (T3), levando à redução do sintoma de fadiga, e quanto à Qualidade de Vida Relacionada à Saúde não houve diferença estatisticamente significativa entre os grupos. Conclusão: os resultados demonstraram que o relaxamento com visualização guiada não teve efeito na melhora da Qualidade de Vida Relacionada à Saúde durante o tratamento radioterápico nos pacientes com câncer de cabeça e pescoço, mas reduziu os níveis de fadiga. Trata-se de uma prática de baixo custo, a qual mostrou-se efetiva na redução do sintoma de fadiga, portanto, seu uso deve ser divulgado na prática dos cuidados aos pacientes oncológicos / Radiation therapy is considered to be one of the standard therapeutic modalities for head and neck cancers in order to control tumor evolution with the lowest possible damage to adjacent normal tissues and organs. Although it has the advantage of preserving the structure of tissues, it can lead to adverse reactions occurring in the oral cavity, as well as generalized physical side effects, being fatigue the most common of them. Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of an Integrative and Complementary Practice - Relaxation with Guided Imagery, on the reduction of fatigue symptom and improvement of Health-Related Quality of Life, during the radiotherapy treatment. METHODS: A quantitative, quasi-experimental, longitudinal and prospective study was carried out with the participation of 102 patients at the beginning of radiotherapy, intentionally allocated in two groups: Intervention (n=42) and Comparison (n = 60). While only the participants of the Intervention Group performed the relaxation practice with guided imagery during the radiotherapy treatment, all the participants answered the evaluation questionnaires. The HealthRelated Quality of Life questionnaires (FACT-H&N) and the revised Piper Fatigue Scale were used. The practice of relaxation with guided imagery was applied by the researcher of the study, through an audio recording containing verbal commands, which guided the patient to perform the practice. To evaluate the effects of the intervention comparing the intervention and control groups, it was used multinomial logistic regression technique in order to estimate odds ratios by points and their respective standard errors (SE). Results: the descriptive stage found in the sociodemographic and clinical data, the prevalence of males, age between 41 and 60 years old, low level of schooling, retirees, Catholics, regular use of alcohol and tobacco, as well as oropharynx cancer in stage IV. There were statistically significant differences between the groups related to the variables place of residence, marital status and \"type of surgery\", while the p-values were respectively, p=0.000, p=0.002 and p = 0.027. In the analytical stage, it was observed that the relaxation with guided imagery was effective for the global, behavioral and sensorial domains in the second application (T2), as well as for the affective and sensorial domains in the third application (T3), leading to the reduction of the fatigue symptoms, while there was no statistically significant difference between the groups related to Health-Related Quality of Life. Conclusion: The results showed that while guided imagery relaxation had no effect on the improvement of the Health-Related Quality of Life during the radiotherapy treatment in patients with head and neck cancer, it still reduced fatigue levels. It is a low-cost practice, which has proved effective in reducing the fatigue symptoms, so its use must be disseminated in caring practices directed to cancer patients

INTRODUÇÃO: Existem dúvidas e controvérsias em relação à falta de controle clínico dos pacientes portadores de asma grave. Neste estudo avaliamos a proporção de asmáticos graves que atingem o controle com seguimento supervisionado e tratamento padronizado. Comparamos a inflamação das vias aéreas através do escarro induzido e do óxido nítrico exalado em pacientes que atingem o controle da asma em comparação aos não controlados. Avaliamos também o impacto do controle sobre o estado de saúde e comparamos o comportamento psicossocial (ansiedade e depressão) entre os pacientes controlados e não controlados. MÉTODOS: Os pacientes foram selecionados no ambulatório de asma da Pneumologia porque apresentavam asma grave não controlada apesar de tratamento de acordo com as diretrizes de tratamento da asma. Avaliamos as características clínicas, funcionais, inflamatórias, controle da asma, qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde e ansiedade e depressão, na condição basal, após as 2 semanas de corticosteróide oral e ao final do tratamento otimizado por via inalatória. RESULTADOS: Cento e vinte e oito pacientes foram elegíveis, 74 incluídos e 54 completaram o protocolo. Destes, 36 (66,7%) pacientes foram classificados em grupo não controlado e 18 (33,3%) controlados. Na inclusão, o grupo que não se controlou apresentou mais mulheres, maior porcentagem de ex-tabagistas, menor porcentagem de dias livres de sintomas e maior porcentagem de mulheres com piora da asma no período menstrual. Os pacientes dos dois grupos apresentavam alta utilização do sistema de saúde e várias comorbidades. Após o tratamento padronizado, não se observou diferença nos parâmetros de função pulmonar, escarro induzido e óxido nítrico exalado entre os grupos. No grupo não controlado, o curso de corticosteróide oral promoveu redução significativa dos eosinófilos no escarro induzido, mas com aumento destes após a retirada da medicação oral, embora sem significância estatística. O óxido nítrico exalado não se alterou com o tratamento, mantendo-se normal nos dois grupos durante todo o acompanhamento. Os pacientes apresentavam baixa qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde, com melhora significativa nos dois grupos. Observamos alta porcentagem de pacientes com ansiedade moderada, que não se alterou com o tratamento da asma. CONCLUSÕES: Pacientes com asma grave não controlada podem atingir o controle clínico quando submetidos à intervenção proposta. Mas 2/3 dos nossos pacientes não atingiram o controle. Apresentaram características semelhantes aos de outras coortes internacionais, grande utilização dos recursos da saúde e baixa qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde. A inflamação eosinofílica responde ao uso de corticosteróide oral. O óxido nítrico exalado pode estar normal em pacientes com asma grave e inflamação eosinofílica persistente. A intervenção proposta melhorou a qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde nestes pacientes, mas não apresentou impacto na ansiedade / INTRODUCTION: There are doubts and open questions about low achieve control in severe asthma patients. In this study we evaluated the proportion of severe asthmatics who achieve control status after a systematic follow-up protocol and standardized treatment. We compared airway inflammation according to induced sputum and exhaled nitric oxide in controlled and non-controlled patients. We also evaluated the impact of control status on health related quality of life and compared the psychosocial behavior (anxiety and depression) between groups. METHODS: Patients were selected on outpatient asthma clinic of Pulmonary Division. They had severe asthma and underwent a systematic follow-up protocol with standardized treatment. We evaluated clinical, functional and inflammatory characteristics, asthma control, health related quality of life and anxiety and depression symptoms in baseline, after two weeks of oral corticosteroid and at the end of the follow-up, with inhaled corticosteroid plus long acting beta 2 agonist. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty eight patients were eligible, 74 included and 54 completed the follow-up period. Among this, 36 (66.7%) patients were classified as non-controlled and 18 (33.3%) controlled. At the inclusion non-controlled group had significantly higher female and ex-smokers prevalence, less percentage of days free of symptoms and higher frequency of females with menstrual worsening of asthma symptoms. Both groups had high health care use and several comobidities. There was not any significant difference in pulmonary function, induced sputum and exhaled nitric oxide between the two groups after standardized treatment. Induced sputum eosinophils had a significant reduction after oral corticosteroid trial in non-controlled patients but there was impairment after oral steroid withdrawn, but without statistic significance. Exhaled nitric oxide did not change with treatment and was normal in both groups during the follow-up period. Patients had low health related quality of life but with significant improvement on two groups. We observed high prevalence of patients with moderate anxiety which did not change with asthma treatment. CONCLUSION: Non-controlled severe asthma patients can achieve clinical control after proposed standardized protocol. But 2/3 of our patients did not achieve clinical control. Our patients share characteristics with others international cohorts, had high health care utilization and low health related quality of life. Induced sputum eosinophilia showed an improvement after oral corticosteroid trial. Exhaled nitric oxide may be normal in severe asthmatics with persistent eosinophilc inflammation. There was an improvement on health related quality of life with asthma treatment but no change was observed on anxiety

Introdução: O tratamento do câncer retal melhorou ao longo das décadas com aprimoramento e surgimento de novas terapêuticas resultando em maior sobrevida. Assim, os resultados e o impacto pós-tratamento sobre a QVRS são cada vez mais considerados e não só a ausência da doença. Objetivo: Avaliar a qualidade de vida imediata e tardia relacionada à saúde em pacientes tratados de câncer retal com intenção curativa. Método: Estudo descritivo-exploratório, com delineamento de coorte prospectivo, de caráter observacional para geração de hipóteses acerca da qualidade de vida de pacientes com câncer de reto. Conduzimos com aplicação de entrevista por questionário específico para dados demográficos; questionário estruturado EORTC QLQ-C30 e EORTC-CR38 para avaliação da QVRS aplicados no início do tratamento, três meses após a cirurgia e 12 meses após. A casuística foi composta de 58 pessoas, totalizando 29 pacientes puderam participar conforme critérios de inclusão e 12 que puderam responder os questionários após 12 meses. Os escores de cada paciente foram comparados - início, após 3 meses de intervenção e 12 meses com ou sem estoma. Os dados foram organizados em planilha Excel e análise dos dados realizada utilizando o software R (R-project) versão 3.1.2. Resultados: Após três meses houve piora da satisfação sexual, Problemas sexuais femininos e Perspectiva futura. Melhoram os Sintomas Gastrointestinais, problemas esfincterianos e perda de peso. Após 12 meses a Perspectiva futura deteriorou, porém houve melhora dos Problemas relacionados ao estoma, Problemas esfincterianos e Imagem Corporal. Conclusão: Apesar de toda complexidade do tratamento multidisciplinar do câncer de reto dentro de um serviço especializado, a qualidade de vida ficou preservada e foi satisfatória na maioria dos quesitos estudados / Introduction: The treatment of rectal cancer has improved over the decades with improvement and emergence of new therapies resulting in greater survival. Thus, the results and post-treatment impact on HRQoL are increasingly considered and not just the absence of the disease. Objective: To evaluate the immediate and late health-related quality of life in patients treated for rectal cancer with curative intent. Method: A descriptive-exploratory study, with a prospective cohort design, with an observational character to generate hypotheses about the quality of life of patients with rectal cancer. We conducted with questionnaire interview application specific to demographic data; structured questionnaire EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC-CR38 for the evaluation of HRQoL applied at the beginning of treatment, three months after surgery and 12 months after. The sample consisted of 58 people, totaling 29 patients who could participate according to inclusion criteria and 12 who could answer the questionnaires after 12 months. The scores of each patient were compared - beginning, after 3 months of intervention and 12 months with or without stoma. The data were organized in Excel spreadsheet and data analysis performed using software R (R-project) version 3.1.2. Results: After three months there was worsening of sexual satisfaction, Female sexual problems and Future perspective. Improve Gastrointestinal Symptoms, Sphincter Problems and Weight Loss. After 12 months, the future Perspective deteriorated, but there was improvement of the problems related to the stoma, Sphincter problems and Body Image. Conclusion: Despite the complexity of the multidisciplinary treatment of rectal cancer within a specialized service, the quality of life was preserved and was satisfactory in most of the studied questions

No description available.

<p>The aim with this thesis was to study cardiovascular disease and hypertension, use of drugs and health from an epidemiological perspective. Various methods - self-rated health (SRH), health related quality of life (HRQL) - the 36-item short form questionnaire (SF-36) - and health utility measurements - the rating scale (RS) and the time-trade off (TTO) methods - were employed.</p><p>Data from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA) in 1984, 1987, 1990, and 1993 as well as a general population survey conducted in Uppsala County in 1995 were used.</p><p>Persons who have cardiovascular disease, both with and without drug treatment, were found to have a lower SRH as compared to others in the population. Longitudinal analyses showed that SRH was relatively stable over time among persons with cardiovascular disease. Both having a low SRH and having cardiovascular disease were associated with a higher mortality rate.</p><p>Hypertensives were found to have a lower HRQL than do others in the general population as measured by the SF-36. The lowest scoring was found in the general health perception scale (GH), whereas role emotional (RE) and mental health (MH) were the scales least affected by hypertension.</p><p>Nearly 20 percent of the antihypertensive drug users reported side effects.The pattern of side effects was similar to that reported in clinical trials. Both hypertension itself and the drug treatment were found to have an impact on the patient's health-state utility as measured by the RS. Comparative analyses showed that health utilities and psychometric quality-of-life instruments were only moderately correlated among hypertensives. </p><p>The results also showed that inequalities in HRQL were present with respect to several sociodemographic factors. </p><p>In summary, this thesis revealed that persons with cardiovascular disease and/or with hypertension experience poorer health than others in the population. The poor health may be caused both by the disease and/or the drug treatment. The results in this thesis also suggested that special attention and care should be directed to persons with cardiovascular disease and/or hypertension reporting ill health. This especially is important given that low HRQL can be a riskfactor for subsequent cardiovascular events or complications which in turn might result in higher mortality rate.</p>

The general aim of this thesis was to classify and describe long-term pain two years after a stroke and to describe the experiences of pain, and the consequences it has on the persons’ lives. The studies were conducted from a multidimensional perspective on pain, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Three types of long-term pain were classified and described among the 43 participants included, aged 33-82 years. These were central post-stroke pain, nociceptive, mainly shoulder pain, and tension-type headache. Pain onset, within one to six months in most of the cases was after discharge from the hospital. Continuous pain or pain almost every day was reported by nearly two-thirds. The pain was mostly described as troublesome, annoying and tiring in all pain groups. The rating of pain intensity revealed individual differences among the participants within the pain groups. In addition to long-term pain, the participants suffered several impairments and nearly half of them were dependent on others, and two-thirds on assistive devices. Several coping strategies were described, most often problem-focused. Their health-related quality of life was decreased, mostly related to their long-term pain and physical impairments. Their experiences of caring revealed the need of improvements in knowledge about longterm pain, attention and understanding among the professionals, and continuity in the contacts. / On the day of the public defence the status of article III was: Accepted for publication and the status of article IV was: In press.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2006 S. 1-125 : 4 uppsatser

<p>This study attests to the fact that disability is an issue in conflict-affected populations, in particular refugees. Refugees with disabilities living in Mayukwayukwa refugee camp also have poor HRQOL similar to other studies. Education was the only variable significantly correlated to the psychological and social domains of the HRQOL. The study highlighted that environmental and personal variables played a role in the determination of health related quality of life among refugees with disabilities.</p>

The aim with this thesis was to study cardiovascular disease and hypertension, use of drugs and health from an epidemiological perspective. Various methods - self-rated health (SRH), health related quality of life (HRQL) - the 36-item short form questionnaire (SF-36) - and health utility measurements - the rating scale (RS) and the time-trade off (TTO) methods - were employed. Data from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA) in 1984, 1987, 1990, and 1993 as well as a general population survey conducted in Uppsala County in 1995 were used. Persons who have cardiovascular disease, both with and without drug treatment, were found to have a lower SRH as compared to others in the population. Longitudinal analyses showed that SRH was relatively stable over time among persons with cardiovascular disease. Both having a low SRH and having cardiovascular disease were associated with a higher mortality rate. Hypertensives were found to have a lower HRQL than do others in the general population as measured by the SF-36. The lowest scoring was found in the general health perception scale (GH), whereas role emotional (RE) and mental health (MH) were the scales least affected by hypertension. Nearly 20 percent of the antihypertensive drug users reported side effects.The pattern of side effects was similar to that reported in clinical trials. Both hypertension itself and the drug treatment were found to have an impact on the patient's health-state utility as measured by the RS. Comparative analyses showed that health utilities and psychometric quality-of-life instruments were only moderately correlated among hypertensives. The results also showed that inequalities in HRQL were present with respect to several sociodemographic factors. In summary, this thesis revealed that persons with cardiovascular disease and/or with hypertension experience poorer health than others in the population. The poor health may be caused both by the disease and/or the drug treatment. The results in this thesis also suggested that special attention and care should be directed to persons with cardiovascular disease and/or hypertension reporting ill health. This especially is important given that low HRQL can be a riskfactor for subsequent cardiovascular events or complications which in turn might result in higher mortality rate.