Abstract
Background: Modern patient-oriented medicine increasingly involves psycho social aspects of disease processes in therapy evaluations. We conducted a pilot study on the implementation of a suitable device assessing the quality of life of patients with non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in clinical routine. Patients and Methods: 52 patients with NMSC were asked to fill out the German version of the ...
Abstract
Background: Modern patient-oriented medicine increasingly involves psycho social aspects of disease processes in therapy evaluations. We conducted a pilot study on the implementation of a suitable device assessing the quality of life of patients with non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in clinical routine. Patients and Methods: 52 patients with NMSC were asked to fill out the German version of the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) by A.Y. Finlay. Additionally, one-third of the patients were evaluated by the treating physicians. Results: The questionnaire was well-accepted and completed within a few minutes. Less than 1 % values were missing with respect to individual items. 31 % of patients experienced a moderate to strong impairment of the quality of life. This impairment involved symptoms, emotions, everyday activities, and leisure activities, whereas work and school were of minor importance. The variables age, gender, and diagnosis were of little importance. Conclusions: The limited number of publications available necessitates a step-wise introduction of this topic into the German literature. Data on quality of life could be relevant for the inclusion of NMSC onto the list of occupational diseases in occupations with high UV exposure. Sufficient data have to be generated in follow-up studies of longitudinal design that are based on the present pilot study.
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