ABSTRACT
Breast hypertrophy has been associated with a significant impact on quality of life. Aim: To validate a specific scale to evaluate quality of life of Chilean women with symptomatic breast hypertrophy. Material and Methods: We included 80 women, 40 patients (20 undergoing reduction mammoplasty) and 40 controls. The Breast Related Symptoms (BRS) questionnaire in Spanish was used. The results are expressed as a score ranging from 0 to 100, with higher values representing better specific quality of life. Internal consistency, reliability and validity of the test were evaluated. The results of patients and controls and the scores of patients undergoing reduction mammoplasty, before and after surgery, were compared. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to define the score cutoff point defining symptomatic breast hypertrophy. Results: The Cronbach´s alpha was 0.96, linear weighed kappa test-retest was 0.87 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.31-1] and inter-observer variability was 0.79 [95% CI 0.71-0.87]. Participants with breast hypertrophy had a lower specific quality of life than the control group (25 (2-71) and 91 (25-100) respectively, p < 0.01). In patients undergoing surgery, the preoperative score was lower than the postoperative figures (37 (12-71) and 96 [94-100] respectively, p < 0.01). The area under the ROC curve was 0.97 (p < 0,001) and the cutoff point for symptomatic breast hypertrophy was a score below 72.1. Conclusions: The Spanish version of the BRS questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument to measure specific quality of life in Chilean women with mammary hypertrophy.
Subject(s)
Adult , Female , Humans , Breast/pathology , Mammaplasty/psychology , Quality of Life , Surveys and Questionnaires , Case-Control Studies , Cross-Sectional Studies , Hypertrophy/pathology , Hypertrophy/psychology , Language , Reproducibility of Results , TranslatingABSTRACT
Background: Electrical burns are associated with complications and may aggravate burned patients. Aim: To evaluate the effect of electrical burns in mortality and length of stay in a critical care unit for burn patients. Material and Methods: Retrospective analysis of medical records of 182 patients aged 15 to 90 years, admitted to an intensive care unit for burn patients. The length of stay and mortality of 14 patients that suffered electric burns was compared with the features of 168 patients with other type of burns. Results: Patients with electrical burns were younger, had a lower percentage of total body surface burnt and had a lower frequency of inhalatory injuries than their counterparts with other type of burns. Mortality rate among patients with electric or other types of burns was similar (three and 49 patients, respectively). Intensive care unit stay was also similar. A multivariate analysis showed that high voltage electric burns were an independent risk factor for death with an odds ratio of 12 (95 percent confidence intervals 1.8-79.4). Conclusions: High voltage electric burns are an independent risk factor for death among burn patients.