Home⇛The PCMC Journal⇛vol. 11 no. 1 (2015)

Health-Related Quality Of Life Among Children And Adolescents With Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia At A Tertiary Referral Center In The Philippines

Michael C. Cuarteron | Kris Isaac A. Brugada | Maria Beatriz P. Gepte | Maria Cecilia L. Cruz

Discipline: medicine by specialism

 

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among children and adolescents with transfusion-dependent thalassemia at a tertiary referral center in the Philippines. DESIGN Cross-sectional SETTING Tertiary, government-owned, pediatric hospital in the Philippines SUBJECTANSD METHODS Using the PedsQL™ 4.0 Generic Core Scale (Tagalog version), patients with transfusiondependent thalassemia between the ages 5-18 years accomplished the child self-report questionnaire while the primary caregiver of patients between the ages 2-18 years answered the parent proxy-report questionnaires. RESULTS A total of 55 patients, with same proportion of males and females were included. The mean age was 8.09 years. Forty-two (76%) belongs to the low-income group. Beta-thalassemia was seen in 43 (78%). Thirty-seven (67%) had monthly blood transfusions. Self-reports showed that patients in the high-income group were significantly associated with higher HRQOL in the social domain (P = 0.012). Lesser frequency of transfusion was borderline significantly associated with higher HRQOL in the social domain (P=0.083). Proxy-reports suggest a trend for younger patients having higher HRQOL (P = 0.090). Higher income status was borderline significantly associated with higher HRQOL in social domain (P= 0.087). CONCLUSION The self-reported HRQOL in the social domain is affected by income status and may be affected by the frequency of transfusion. Evidence from the proxy-report revealed that very young patients tend to have higher HRQOL than older patients. Although the self-reported and proxyreported HRQOLs showed low agreement among patients age 5-18 years, the proxy-report may be a valuable tool for HRQOL assessment among the very young patients (2-4 years).



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