Health-Related Quality of life of Patients Surgically Treated for benign Oral and Maxillofacial Tumours and Tumour-like lesions at Muhimbili National Hospital, Tanzania

Özet

Objectives: To assess the Health-Related Quality of Life of patients diagnosed and treated for benign oral and maxillofacial tumours and tumour-like lesions at Muhimbili National Hospital, Tanzania. Methods: This was a cross-sectional hospital-based study that included patients with benign tumours and tumourlike lesions in the oral and maxillofacial region. Sociodemographic and clinical data from the patients were collected and a modified version of the UW-QoL questionnaire was used with the addition of 2 domains (mouth opening and financial difficulty). Chi-square test and Friedman’s test for paired samples were used and the level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: This study included 89 patients with a male to female ratio of 1:1.2. The age of patients ranged from 13 to 78 years (mean age of 36.16 years±17.21 SD). Ameloblastoma followed by ossifying fibroma were the commonest lesions. The domains of pain, appearance, swallowing, chewing, mood, anxiety and financial problems were significantly affected during different treatment phases. Patients with volatile income faced financial problems 3 times more than those with stable income. Patients with tumours in the mandible were 3 times more likely to complain about their appearance. Patients who underwent ablative surgical procedures had 7 times higher odds of difficulty with chewing. Conclusion: Pain, appearance, swallowing, mood, anxiety and financial difficulty were the most important issues patients faced. The patients’ age, their income, size and location of tumour and types of surgery significantly affected the domain scores.