PHYSICAL DIMENSION OF QUALITY OF LIFE IN OSTOMY PATIENTS

Abstract

Colorectal cancer is the most common cancer of abdominal visceral organs. The basic principle of management is radical surgery treatment, with creation of stoma. Quality of life is of great importance for ostomy patients. Considering the fact that colostomy is mutilizing intervention wich results in irreversible body changes, in most cases as a result of underlying colorectal cancer, patients have to cope with two major issues - life threatening disease and extensive surgical procedure which leads to irreversible changes in all aspects of life. The aim of this study was to assess physical well-beig in patients with ostomy regarding their gender, education level and time after surgery. There were 67 patients of both genders who were followed up at the Specialist Polyclinic after colostomy surgery at the Clinical Center of Vojvodina. The quality of life for patients with colostomy questionnaire by M. Grant was used. Average age of respondents was 65.87 years. Majority of them had colostomy, mainly permanent, mostly due to malignancy. The most dominant physical issues were skin irritation, diarrhea, leakage of feces from pouch and obstipation. There were no statistically significant differences in self-assessment of physical well-being among sexes; gas and diarrhea were more commonly reported in higher education level groups, while patients who had stoma longer than 12 months better perceived their physical strength. The average score of self-assessment of physical well-being was 3.91 (0 was the best, 10 was the worst), better perceived by men and patients who had stoma longer than 12 months. Although self-assessment of physical well-being in ostomy patients was at a satisfactory level, it is necessary to provide continuous patient support in order to overcome physical problems that alter their quality of life.

Keywords

• ostomy
• quality of life
• physical health