Assessing Gastrointestinal Symptoms After Pelvic Radiotherapy
Author Information
Author(s): Olopade F A, Norman A, Blake P, Dearnaley D P, Harrington K J, Khoo V, Tait D, Hackett C, Andreyev H J N
Primary Institution: Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
Hypothesis
Can the IBDQ and Vaizey Incontinence questionnaire accurately assess gastrointestinal morbidity after pelvic radiotherapy?
Conclusion
Half of all patients who received pelvic radiotherapy experience gastrointestinal morbidity that affects their quality of life.
Supporting Evidence
- 39% of patients reported incontinence for solid or liquid stools.
- 89% of patients experienced a change in bowel habit after treatment.
- Patients with previous bowel surgery had higher gastrointestinal morbidity scores.
Takeaway
After treatment for pelvic cancer, many patients have tummy troubles that can make life hard. Simple questionnaires can help doctors understand how these problems affect patients.
Methodology
Patients completed the IBDQ and Vaizey questionnaires, and their results were compared to the LENT SOMA questionnaire administered by staff.
Potential Biases
Patients may underreport symptoms due to perceptions of normalcy after treatment.
Limitations
The study failed to recruit the target number of gastrointestinal tumour patients due to low clinic attendance.
Participant Demographics
142 patients, 72 male and 70 female, median age 66 years (range 26–90 years).
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Confidence Interval
95% confidence intervals for faecal incontinence in gynaecological and gastrointestinal cancer patients were 37–63% and 28.2–71.8%, respectively.
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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