Impacts of Anastomotic Complications on the Health-Related Quality of Life After Esophagectomy

Backgroud and objectivesHealth-related quality of life (HRQL) is of great importance in cancer management. The aim was to identify factors that influence postoperative HRQL in esophageal carcinoma patients. MethodsA prospective cohort study was conducted to enroll 196 patients with esophageal carcinoma from November 2012 to June 2013. Sociademographic and clinicopathological parameters were recorded in detail. EORTC-QLQ C30 and ES18 were used to assess HRQL before surgery, at discharge, 1 and 6 months after discharge. Logistic regression models were used to identify factors independently influencing quality of life at 6 months after discharge. ResultsHRQL dramatically decreased after esophagectomy, but restored within 6 months in the most scales. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that gender (P=0.002) and anastomotic stricture (P=0.001) were the independent predictors of poor global quality-of-life 6 months after discharge. Anastomotic stricture occurred in 22 patients (11.2%), and their performance in social function (P=0.04), problems with eating (P=0.006), choking when swallowing (P<0.001) were significantly poorer at 6 months after discharge. There were not significant differences in global quality-of-life between patients with and without anastomotic leakage at three postoperative assessments. ConclusionsPostoperative HRQL is restored within 6 months after discharge. Occurrence of anastomotic stricture significantly decreases HRQL after esophagectomy. J. Surg. Oncol. 2015 111:365-370. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.