The influence of palliative care on the level of anxiety and depression in lung cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE Starting from the fact that Palliative Care Centre has been in the existence within the University Clinical Centre Tuzla for a few years, and from the positive daily experience while working with lung cancer patients and relatively small number of research in the area this work has an aim to establish the influence of palliative care on the level of anxiety and depression at lung cancer patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The examined group consecutively chosen was consisted of 40 patients who were given symptomatic therapy and who were hospitalized at the Palliative Care Department of the University Clinical Centre Tuzla. The controlled group was consisted of 40 patients who were treated at home after the diagnosed lung cancer by the Tuzla's Heath Centre infirmary in charge. Depression and anxiety were estimated by Zung self-rating scale. Two-level testing was conducted: first of all the initial testing, immediately after the given diagnosis, and then two-week-later testing. The significance ofthe established differences was tested by the students' t-test, while the difference was recognised as significant for the level of probability starting with p < 0.05. RESULTS The average score for depression outcome at the beginning of the treatment of the hospitalized patients at the Palliative Care Department was 62.68 +/- 5.88, while the outpatients had a score of 48.65 +/- 4.90. After two-month treatment at the Palliative Care Department the depression was reduced to 48.73 +/- 4.11 (p < 0.001), while it was 47.33 +/- 5.37 (p = 0.004) of the outpatients. At the beginning the hospitalized patients had an average score of anxiety of 51.55 +/- 2.88, while two weeks later it was 44.53 +/- 2.98 (p < 0.0001). The controlled group ofoutpatients' average score of anxiety at the beginning was 44.43 +/- 2.63, while two weeks later it was 46.15 +/- 2.62 (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION The treatment of the lung cancer patients at the Palliative Care Centre significantly reduced the level of their anxiety and depression and it represents a better way of treatment than treatment at home that outpatients received.