title: Quality of life following endoscopic resection of skull base tumors.
abstract: The objective of the study is to evaluate patients' quality of life (QOL) after endoscopic resection of skull base tumors. We estimated the QOL of 41 patients who underwent surgery for removal of skull base tumors via the expanded endonasal approach (EEA). The Anterior Skull Base Surgery Questionnaire (ASBS-Q), a multidimensional, disease-specific instrument containing 36 items was used. The rate of meningitis and cerebrospinal fluid leak was 1.4 and 0%, respectively. There was one case of uniocular visual impairment. The internal consistency of the instrument had a correlation coefficient (α-Cronbach score) of 0.8 to 0.92. Of 41 patients, 30 (75%) reported improvement or no change in overall QOL. Improved scores were reported in the physical function domain and worse scores in the specific symptoms domain. The most significant predictor of poor QOL was female gender, which led to a significant decrease in scores of all domains. Site of surgery, histology, age and comorbidity were not significant predictors of outcome. This paper further validates the use of the ASBS-Q for patients undergoing endoscopic skull base resection. The overall QOL of patients following endoscopic extirpation of skull base tumors is good. Female patients experience a significant decline in QOL compared with males.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Oren
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cavel
authors.forename: Avraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abergel
authors.forename: Nevo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Margalit
authors.forename: Dan M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Fliss
authors.forename: Ziv
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gil
keywords: craniofacial; endoscopy; morbidity; quality of life; sinuses; skull base
references.citation: Head Neck. 2009 Oct;31(10):1326-34
references.pmid: 19536852
references.citation: Skull Base. 2010 Jan;20(1):35-40
references.pmid: 20592856
references.citation: Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2009 Dec;135(12):1219-24
references.pmid: 20026819
references.citation: Isr Med Assoc J. 2009 May;11(5):296-300
references.pmid: 19637508
references.citation: Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2003 Dec;129(12):1303-9
references.pmid: 14676156
references.citation: Skull Base. 2010 Jan;20(1):23-6
references.pmid: 20592854
references.citation: Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2004 Nov;130(11):1276-81
references.pmid: 15545581
references.citation: Skull Base. 2010 Jan;20(1):27-33
references.pmid: 20592855
references.citation: Skull Base. 2010 Jan;20(1):5-10
references.pmid: 20592851
references.citation: J Neurosurg. 2004 May;100(5):813-9
references.pmid: 15137599
references.citation: Qual Life Res. 2007 Oct;16(8):1357-73
references.pmid: 17668290
references.citation: J Am Coll Surg. 2006 Mar;202(3):563
references.pmid: 16500265
references.citation: Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2009 Feb;140(2):218-23
references.pmid: 19201292
references.citation: Skull Base. 2010 Jul;20(4):223-8
references.pmid: 21311614
references.citation: Urology. 2006 Dec;68(6):1224-9
references.pmid: 17141840
references.citation: Skull Base. 2010 Jan;20(1):11-8
references.pmid: 20592852
references.citation: Skull Base. 2007 Feb;17(1):73-8
references.pmid: 17603646
references.citation: Plast Reconstr Surg. 2005 Aug;116(2):395-8; discussion 399
references.pmid: 16079662