Quality of life following a maternal near-miss event during the COVID-19 pandemic at a tertiary care center in South India.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of life (QoL) in women following a maternal near-miss event and to assess the women's attitude towards future fertility and their contraceptive choices. METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in Government Medical College, Kozhikode, India among women who had experienced a near-miss event (n = 50) between January 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021 during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The QoL was assessed using the WHO Quality of Life, BREF Version, questionnaire, which was administered to the consenting participants over phone. Information regarding desire for future fertility, contraceptive choices, and urogenital symptoms was also collected. A comparison between the short-term and long-term effects on the QoL was also done. RESULTS: A maternal near-miss event was not found to adversely affect the overall quality of life in the present study. The scores in all the four domains-physical, psychological, social relationships, and environmental-suggested good QoL, although greater variability in values were observed in the physical and psychological domains. The influence in these two domains was more pronounced following a perinatal loss and following prolonged physical morbidities. There was no difference in short- and long-term QoL following a maternal near miss (MNM). The MNM did not influence the contraceptive choices and there was no subsequent pelvic floor dysfunction in most women. CONCLUSION: MNM was not found to adversely affect the overall subsequent QoL in the present study. There was no difference in short- and long-term QoL following a MNM. Studies carried out over a longer period of time with a control group would yield more information.

A Review of Commonly used Health-Related Quality of Life instruments in Gynecological Cancer Survivors.

The number of cancer survivors is increasing steadily due to an aging population, continuing improvement in early detection, and treatment. Comparative effectiveness studies and clinical trials are being done to assess late effects of treatment and health-related quality of life. This is in addition to long-term follow-up to assess survival. The aim of the review was to summarize the literature on commonly used quality of life instruments for patients with gynecological cancers with special focus on patient reported outcomes. A literature review was done to summarize the commonly used health-related quality of life instruments in gynecological cancer survivors. Most items assess general quality of life, sexual function, and/or treatment-related toxicity. The commonly reported instruments are the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ C30) with disease specific modules for cervix, ovary, and endometrium. Another tool is the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) questionnaire with similar disease specific modules. The questionnaires were accessed with permission from these organizations. These instruments typically have about 10-30 questions that assess treatment related bowel and bladder toxicity. This is connected to the patients' self-reported quality of life, generally ranked using a 5-point scale. Length and emphasis vary in different questionnaires. The validated tools in cancer populations allow better quantification and assessment of quality of life. However, there may be limitations. Some of the general instruments may be too broad to assess treatment-related long-term side effects. Others may be too narrow to generalize closely related patient groups. Also, some questions may not be culturally appropriate in certain situations.