QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH ULCERATIVE COLITIS

QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH ULCERATIVE COLITIS (Abstract) : Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have to live with the perspective of a potential disability, which may lead in time to impaired quality of life (QoL). In order to fully understand the im- pact of IBD on patients and their careers we need to quantify the QoL. Aim: To evaluate HRQol in ulcerative colitis patients as opposed to the general population and to identify the significant changes of HRQoL in accordance with the specific progression of UC. Methods: The prospective study (January 2010 - December 2012), included 105 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Disease activity was quantified by means of the Truelove and Witts score (mild, moderate and severe). All patients were administered a self-completed IBD questionnaire (IBDQ). Lower scores were related to a worse QoL. Statistical analysis was performed and di f- ferences were considered significant when p≤ 0.05. Results: Ninety-one percent (91%) were admitted with a flare, while they were asked to fill in the IBDQ. Proctitis was met in 2.94% of the cases, left-sided colitis in 71.1% and pancolitis in 26%. There were 32 patients with mild activity, 62 with moderate activity and only 3 with severe activity. The range score for QoL was 90-180. In proctitis: 80- 190, in left-side colitis: 120- 200, in pancolitis: 70- 160 (p>0.05). The patients with severe form had a lower score (50-140) than patients in remission (130-180) (p<0.01). Conclusion: Patients with UC have significantly influenced the QoL as compared to the general population. We found no significant differences regarding the extension of the l e- sions. The severity of the flare had a significant impact on the QoL. Key words: QUALITY OF LIFE, ULCERATIVE COLITIS, STATISTICAL ANALYSIS.