Socio-demographic and clinical profile of patients treated in an outpatient palliative chemotherapy clinic in Belo Horizonte

Abstract

This study aimed at identifying the socio-demographic and clinical profile of patients treated in an outpatient palliative chemotherapy unit in Belo Horizonte. It is a descriptive study using a quantitative approach. Data were collected through interviews with 70 patients who underwent palliative chemotherapy between October 2010 and February 2011. Data were entered into the SPSS program and analysed using descriptive statistics. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee under report nº. 0388.0.203.000-10 from 15/09/2010. The research subjects gave their informed consent to participation in the research. The subjects were mostly female; their average age was 56 years, with a low education level, and a low income. The main primary sites of cancer were: breast (n = 31; 44.3%), and gastrointestinal tract (n = 21; 30%). The majority had only one metastasis (61.4%), the main organs affected were liver, bone and lungs. 70% of the sample presented a stable functional capacity. As to the occurrence of symptoms, all areas had a low to moderate scoring. The occurrence of symptoms score showed an overall median age of 16.50 (M = 17.09; SD = 10.05). The intensity of stress-related symptoms score obtained median of 5.5 (M = 8.91, SD = 9.07). The experience of symptoms had a median score of 23.5 points (M = 26, SD = 17.96). The predominant profile was patients with good functional capacity and relatively good ADL index score. A small percentage of patients presented their functional capacity affected, and they would benefit greatly from palliative home care.