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A helping computer system prognosing the survival of patients with Hodgkin's disease
Nonka G Mateva1, Ivanka S Nenova, Inna G Georgieva
1Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, Medical University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria. nonka_mateva@yahoo.com
Introduction And Aims:
Hodgkin's disease is an uncommon form of lymphoma occurring mainly at 15-35 years of age. Prognostic evaluation plays an important role by supplying a rational working linkage between the wide complexity of disease presentations and available therapeutic resources. Improved prognostic evaluation able to identify the likely outcome of a given patient would be of considerable clinical importance. The aim of this study was to develop and present a computer system and tools that will allow physicians to make more precise prognosis of the survival in such patients.
Material And Methods:
Several mathematical models were developed using multivariate statistical survival analyses. Data on 116 patients with Hodgkin's disease treated in the Clinic of Hematology (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) between 1974 and 2001, were collected. The patients' database consisted of general information for each patient (name initials, age, sex, date of diagnosis, etc.) as well as of specialized clinical information.
Results:
The present system has provided different options for calculation of survival probabilities and prognosis using deterministic models for each patient.
Conclusions:
The use of the present system in routine practice has allowed physicians to facilitate the process of making more precise prognosis of survival. In this way, they have been able to optimize the treatment scheme and improve the quality of life of their patients.