HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE OF A PATIENT FOLLOWING NEUROSURGERY ON GLIOBLASTOMA MULTIFORME (GBM)

Abstract

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) plays a role as a patient-centered meaningful endpoint, assessing the direct clinical benefit for a patient. The inclusion of HRQoL measurements in a glioma patient may provide important data to inform clinicians on treatment decision-making. The aim of the study was to evaluate cognitive decline and HRQoL in the clinical care of a patient following neurosurgery on of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). A 69-year-old female developed malignant brain glioma in the right temporal-occipital area; this being confirmed by CT and MR study and neuropathological findings. She had complained of headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting as well as attention and memory loss, and anxiety, sadness and a slowing down in the performance of daily activities. The symptoms rapidly became worse and she was referred to a neurosurgery department for consultation. She was successfully neurosurgically operated on. She was examined with the use of ne uro psycho logical tests three times: the first examination was conducted before the neurosurgical operation, the second two weeks after, and the third half year after the neurosurgical operation. In the first examination by the standard Polish version of the Mindstreams™ Interactive Computer Tests disturbances for all the tested cognitive functions occurred. The greatest changes were to occur however in the areas of visual-spatial functions. attention, executive functions and memory. In the second test, a return to the norm was achieved for the disturbed cognitive and executive functions. In the third examination (half a year after the neurosurgical operation), the cognitive and executive functions were still not bad, but had slightly decreased. Similar trend was observed in HRQoL. A significant difference in the health profile between the 1 st and 2 nd as well as between 1 st and 3 rd examination was detected for the eight SF-36 domains - HRQoL was improved. While only slight but no significant changes occurred between 2 nd and 3 rd examination. HRQoL was still not bad, but had slightly decreased. The patient after the neurosurgical operation of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is capable of carrying out daily activities, but shows some level of reduced complains for functional capacity, pain, general health and vitality, emotional and social functioning for mental health which has led to the impaired HRQoL.