Use of health related quality of life tools in colorectal surgery

The objective of this article is to discuss the various tools used in colorectal surgery for the measurement of health related quality of life (HR-QOL) and highlight various outcome variables that affect the HR-QOL.

Review of HR-QOL articles published on various colorectal procedures in last 25 years.

HR-QOL questionnaire are being utilized quite frequently to assess the changes in the health status of patients after surgery. These surveys are gaining immense importance as healthcare providers are challenged to justify treatment approaches and rationale. These HR-QOL tools are very helpful for the evaluation of subjective outcome of common colorectal procedures. Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) for benign anorectal conditions, European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC QLQ-C30), EORTC QLQ-CR38 and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colorectal (FACT-C) for colorectal cancer and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ) for all types of inflammatory bowel disease are being used frequently to assess the quality of life after surgery.

The use of validated and reliable health instruments in colorectal surgery is directed at measuring the impact in a reproducible and valid fashion. Curative or palliative procedures should be offered to the patients of colorectal disorders after the assessment by HR-QOL tools. Because the impairments of function that may occur after different operations vary considerably, an operation-specific assessment of HR-QOL for each type of surgical procedure is becoming an essential principle to follow in a successful healthcare system.