Disturbances in sleep patterns of patients undergoing gastrointestinal oncological surgery

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Objective: to evaluate the sleep pattern in cancer patients undergoing gastrointestinal oncological surgery and relate it to the dimensions of quality of life. Method: cross-sectional study with quantitative approach performed with 114 patients. Sociodemographic and clinical instruments, the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of the Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) were used. Results: most patients were male, aged between 50 and 60 years, retired, married, with incomplete primary school. Cancer in colorectal portion was predominant, postoperative period up to two months and time of diagnosis up to six months. The pain, the time of surgery and the time of diagnosis were predictive for sleep disorders, negatively influencing the quality of sleep. Correlations between the PSQI and the EORTC-QLC-C30 were significant for all dimensions of functional scales and the Global Scale of Symptoms (GSS). The higher the score of functional scales of EORTC-QLC-C30 and GSS, the better quality of life, while a high PSQI score indicates worse sleep quality. Individuals who experienced pain had higher PSQI scores indicating worse quality of sleep. Moreover, the shorter the time of the surgery and the time of diagnosis, the greater the PSQI score, that is, poor sleep pattern. Conclusion: the care of cancer patients requires awareness from the nursing staff about the symptoms generated by the treatment, with the purpose that the survival in face of this disease may come along with good quality of life.

KEYWORDS: Oncologic nursing. Sleep disorders. Quality of life. Gastrointestinal neoplasms.