Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Quality of life scale tested for dogs in cancer pain
By Yazbek, Karina V B & Fantoni, Denise T·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2005·Department of Surgery, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Validity of a health-related quality-of-life scale for dogs with signs of pain secondary to cancer.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with cancer was assessed for their quality of life using a simple questionnaire that measured their pain and overall well-being. The study found that dogs with cancer had significantly lower quality-of-life scores compared to healthy dogs and those with skin issues. This suggests that the questionnaire can effectively help owners and veterinarians understand how cancer is affecting a dog's daily life. By using this tool, pet owners can better communicate their dog's needs and work with their vet to improve their comfort and care.
People also search for: dog cancer quality of life · how to assess pain in dogs · dog pain management options
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a health-related quality-of-life scale for dogs with pain secondary to cancer. DESIGN: Questionnaire development. ANIMALS: 40 healthy dogs with no history or signs of pain, 20 dogs with dermatologic disease but no signs of pain other than mild pruritus, and 20 dogs with cancer. PROCEDURE: Owners of all dogs completed a questionnaire containing 12 questions with 4 options for each question, and a quality-of-life score ranging from 0 to 36 was calculated. Scores for dogs with cancer were compared with scores for healthy dogs and dogs with dermatologic disease. RESULTS: All owners indicated that the questionnaire was easy to complete. Scores for healthy dogs were significantly different from scores for dogs with cancer and scores for dogs with dermatologic disease. Scores for dogs with dermatologic disease were significantly different from scores for dogs with cancer. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that a simple questionnaire may be useful in assessing health-related quality of life in dogs with pain secondary to cancer, in that dogs with cancer had significantly lower scores than did healthy dogs and dogs with dermatologic disease.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15844428/