Assessment of health-related quality of life in patients prior to carotid body tumor resection

Abstract

Background Carotid body tumors represent approximately 0.5% of the total head and neck tumors, and the most common presentation form is an asymptomatic cervical mass. Despite of being most of them asymptomatic the quality of life could be impacted; however, the literature remains silent about this matter. The Short Form 36 (SF-36) is a health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instrument that includes eight domains to assess physical and emotional function in different diseases. The aim of this study was to compare HRQoL in preoperative patients with carotid body tumor and a control paired group. The secondary objective was to compare HRQoL between carotid body tumor patients according to the volume tumor and Shamblin classification. Methods A cross-sectional study that included 23 patients diagnosed with carotid body tumor prior to resection and 23 control patients paired by age and gender was conducted from January 2017 to December 2018. The SF-36 questionnaire was applied in 46 patients. Three-dimensional volume reconstruction and estimation (3DVR) was obtained from a preoperative computed tomography angiography (CTA). Descriptive statistical analysis was performed for demographics and categorical variables were reported by frequencies and percentages. Continuous variables were summarized using median with interquartile ranges (IQR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) and were compared. Differences between medians were analyzed with the Mann–Whitney U test and all statistical tests were two-sided. Results In the carotid body tumor group, the mean age was 55 years, females were more frequently affected 19 (83%). Shamblin I was identified in 9% of patients, Shamblin II in 52% and Shamblin III in 39%. Carotid body tumor laterality were 57% right, 34% left and 9% bilateral tumors. The eight domains that comprise the SF-36 questionnaire were statistically significant when compared to the control group. Conclusion Significant differences were found in all SF-36 domains in carotid body tumor patients in comparison to control subjects, confirming that this neoplasm has negative impact in the general HRQoL.