Relevance of quality of life questionnaire on people with hepatocellular carcinoma and cognitive impairment in palliative care

The aim of this study was to assess the relevance of using quality of life autoevaluation questionnaire on people with hepatocellular carcinoma in palliative care. The autoevaluation questionnaire MD Anderson was completed by 40 patients in hospital Jean Verdier (Bondy, France). A TELECOM questionnaire was also conducted in these patients in order to assess their cognitive performance and to divide the population in two groups: a group of patients with encephalopathy and an other group without encephalopathy (connected with clinical diagnosis of encephalopathy). At the same time, an IADL questionnaire was conducted to assess the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (heteroquestionnaire). The MD Anderson questionnaire scores were lower in the group of patients with encephalopathy compared to the other group. The group of patients with encephalopathy was more dependant for instrumental activities of daily living. Our study shows the contribution and the limitations of using autoevaluation quality of life questionnaires in medical practice on patients with cognitive impairment. (C) 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.