IMPACT OF RESPIRATORY COMPLICATIONS AND ANASTOMOTIC LEAKAGE ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE FOLLOWING THORACOSCOPIC ESOPHAGECTOMY

Tóm tắt

Objectives: To evaluate health-related quality of life (QoL) in patients undergoing thoracoscopic esophagectomy (TE) and the impact of respiratory complications and anastomotic leakage on health-related QoL at 3 months postoperatively. Methods: A prospective, descriptive study was conducted on 70 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent TE at Military Hospital 103 and 108 Military Central Hospital between June 2022 and June 2024. QoL was assessed using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer QoL Questionnaire - Esophageal Module (EORTC QLQ-OES18) preoperatively and at 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery. Results: The incidences of respiratory complications and anastomotic leakage were 18.6% and 7.1%, respectively. At 3 months postoperatively, patients with respiratory complications had significantly higher scores for cough and esophageal pain compared with those without complications (68.2 vs. 52.1 and 64.1 vs. 51.8, respectively; p < 0.05). Anastomotic leakage was associated with significantly higher dysphagia scores (67.0 vs. 54.3; p = 0.04) and greater eating restrictions (73.1 vs. 53.0; p = 0.001). Overall QoL showed gradual improvement from 3 to 6 months after surgery. Conclusion: Respiratory complications and anastomotic leakage are major determinants of early deterioration in QoL after esophagectomy, particularly affecting cough, esophageal pain, and eating function.