[The quality of life after radical prostatectomy measured by general health questionnaire and visual analogue scales].
OBJECTIVE
The impact of radical prostatectomy on the quality of life (QOL) of patients were evaluated.


METHODS
A total of 22 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy for clinically localized prostate cancer entered this study. Patients were asked to complete a questionnaire containing the general health questionnaire (GHQ) and a series of questions evaluating voiding function, incontinence and sexual dysfunction before and after the operation. In addition, the visual analogue scaled (VAS) questionnaire containing incontinence and sexual dysfunction was applied.


RESULTS
No significant differences in GHQ were found between pre- and post operative status, but disease-targeted QOL such as sexual function was affected after the radical prostatectomy. In the points of incontinence and sexual dysfunction, VAS questionnaire significantly correlated with those of categorical questionnaires.


CONCLUSIONS
There results suggest that GHQ is not affected, but disease-targeted QOL in some categories of sexual function is affected by radical prostatectomy, and that VAS questionnaires are not only useful for assessing the disease-targeted QOL but also easy to quantify QOL of the patients.
Sasaki
R
R
Department of Urology, Akita University, School of Medicine.
Habuchi
T
T
Osamu
O
O
Kato
T
T
Matsuo
S
S
Sasaki
S
S
Miura
K
K
Takemura
T
T
Masuda
Y
Y
Shimizu
T
T
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010410:Penile Erection; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000601:surgery; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014554:Urination