QUALITY OF LIFE OF PATIENTS WITH UROLOGIC PATHOLOGY

Abstract

THE AIM of the investigation was to analyze the influence of chronic urologic pathology on quality of life of such patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS. Questioning of 408 patients hospitalized to a surgical department for inpatient treatment in St.Eugenia hospital in 2004-2006 was performed using SF-36 questionnaire. RESULTS. It was shown that urologic diseases considerably decrease quality of life of patients: most of the patients have limited physical activity, have problems in work and other every-day activity as well as in contacts with the family, friends, neighbors and colleagues due to the physical and emotional state. Positive emotional background was noted in such patients much more rarely than negative; physical pains during the last four weeks before questioning were noted in more than 90% of responders; as a rule, the patients consider their health to be mediocre or bad as a whole, and are expecting it to be even worse in future. CONCLUSION. The worse quality of life of such patients is due mainly to such components as physical, mental and social problems which must be taken into account by the urologist rendering specialized care. The rehabilitation of patients with urological pathology, especially of elderly ones, should include psycho-therapeutic treatment since they have many negative psycho-emotional problems. The data obtained as a whole are in agreement with literature data.