Ata ur Rehman
Dow University of Health Sciences, Pakistan
Title: Patterns of anxiety among patients with Stoma and its determinants: A single center experience
Biography
Biography: Ata ur Rehman
Abstract
Stoma surgeries have become a common procedure for patients suffering from various abdominal pathologies, which lead to increase in life expectancy of patients with severe abdominal diseases. There are several psychological conditions which stoma patients have to deal with including anxiety, depression, fear and social isolation. This study aimed to examine the burden of anxiety among stoma patients and the determinants leading towards anxiety among stoma patients in Pakistan. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 97 in-patients at surgical unit of Civil Hospital Karachi. Patients included those who had undergone abdominal surgery for various abdominal pathologies and had been given a stoma from January 2013 to March 2014 were included in this study. Data was collected through a modified anxiety questionnaire which included questions on stoma management, care, anxiety and fears related to stoma. The overall prevalence of anxiety regarding stoma among patients was 56.7% (n=55). Patients younger than 30 years of age were found to be more anxious 58.2% (n=32). Females were more likely to be anxious as compared to males; (OR=1.62, 95% CI=0.68-3.85, p-value=0.274). Patients were twice more likely to be anxious if they had a double barrel stoma as compared to loop stoma; (OR=2.47, 95% CI=0.61-9.93, p-value=0.203). This study suggests that a considerable proportion of patients with stoma suffer from anxiety but this study did not find any significant determinant of anxiety among stoma patients, perhaps due to smaller sample size. We need further evidence on anxiety among disease specific stoma patients with longitudinal studies having larger samples.