Quality of life assessment using the World Health Organization quality questionnaire pre- and post- otolaryngological surgery among patients in western Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients’ pre- and post- otolaryngological surgery.

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of patients who underwent otolaryngological surgery in the western region of Saudi Arabia between March and October 2013. We administered the Arabic version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment instrument to all patients before surgery and 2-4 weeks after surgery. The demographic details such as age, gender, level of education, marital status, patients’ incomes, otolaryngology diagnosis, and type of otolaryngology surgery were analyzed.

RESULTS: A total of 99 patients (43 males and 52 females), ranging from 1-75 years of age (mean: 21.6 years), were included in this study. The most frequently diagnosed conditions were chronic tonsillitis and obstructive sleep apnea due to adenoid enlargement. Adenotonsillectomy was the most frequently performed surgery, followed by septoplasty and myringotomy with grommet tube insertion. For all domains, patients had significantly higher scores post-surgery. The highest score was obtained for the social relationship domain and the lowest for the physical health domain. However, the highest differences between the pre- and post- surgery scores were for physical health (7.9), psychological (5.1), environmental (2.5), and social health (2.3) domains.

CONCLUSION: The HRQoL of patients improved significantly after otolaryngology surgery.