title: Self-expandable metallic stents for palliation of malignant esophageal obstruction: special reference to quality of life and survival of patients.
abstract: SUMMARY. Self-expandable metallic stents (EMS) provide a common option for malignant esophageal stenosis because of the low complication rate and high dysphagia improvement rate. However, there are few studies on the functional duration of EMS and the extent of improvement of the quality of life. We retrospectively analyzed 18 patients who received EMSs in our division from 1996 to 2002. The median duration of possible food intake and the median survival period were 94.5 and 108 days. The median duration of domiciliary treatment was 56 days. Six of the 18 patients were not discharged from hospital after EMS insertion. The Karnofsky index was found to be a significant determinant of the feasibility of domiciliary treatment. One-third of the patients are incapable of obtaining the benefits of the palliative therapy. EMS deployment should be prudently selected for patients exhibiting low performance status.
authors.affiliation: Division of Digestive and General Surgery, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yajima
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kanda
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kosugi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohashi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hatakeyama
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004867:Equipment Design; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D004940:Esophageal Stenosis / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D004945:Esophagoscopy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017567:Karnofsky Performance Status; D008297:Male; D008670:Metals; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012494:Sampling Studies; D015607:Stents; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D008670:Metals