Grażyna R. Wiraszka

Characteristics of gastrointestinal stromal tumours, diagnostic procedure and therapeutic management and main directions of nursing practice in gastrointestinal stromal tumours

Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) constitute a separate group of mesenchymal neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract. They have been commonly recognized for a few years, they have created a new problem in medical practice. GIST are more often centred in the stomach. They equally affect female and male patients and occur mainly in patients older than 50 years of age. The clinical picture of the tumour is non-specific. Radical surgical treatment and molecularly targeted therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors are used in GIST treatment. Nursing practice with reference to GIST danger is connected with biopsychosocial interventions of perioperative, oncological and palliative procedures and involves the area of health education mainly oriented towards shaping preventive procedures which favour early disease detection and support therapy and recovery.

Quality of life in patients with diabetic foot ulcer in Visegrad countries

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To identify the quality of life of patients with diabetic foot ulcers in the Visegrad countries. BACKGROUND The diabetics with foot ulcers are principally evaluated on the basis of physical parameters, but this does not always reveal much about the patients experience of life with ulceration. DESIGN The cross-sectional study. METHODS The standardised generic questionnaire World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF was used. The sample was made up of 525 participants and the calculations were performed using the IBM spss statistical program. RESULTS The significant negative correlations between demographic data such as age, duration of diabetes mellitus, duration of diabetic ulceration treatment and a lower level of quality of life were found across the sample. The statistically significant differences according to clinical characteristics such as Wagner classification, frequency of foot ulcers, present peripheral vascular disease and pain in terms of quality of life were also revealed. Significant differences of quality of life among Visegrad countries were revealed: Hungarys participants had a worse quality of life than others, while Slovak participants expressed lower satisfaction with their health than Czech. CONCLUSIONS Socio-demographic factors and clinical characteristics influence the quality of life of patients with diabetic foot ulcer. Significant differences between patients of Visegrad countries were found in all domains of quality of life: physical, psychological, social and environmental. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The quality of life of patients with diabetic foot ulcer reflects the conditions and healthcare system in each of the Visegrad countries. We have to respect socio-demographic factors and clinical characteristics in nursing care. This could have an impact on managing patient care not only with regard to their diabetic foot ulcer but also with regard to the patient as a personality with their own problems in relation to physical, psychosocial and environmental conditions.