Depression status of 136 patients with adjuvant radiotherapy after reconstruction of the oral cancer flap and analysis of influencing factors

To explore the depression and influencing factors of patients with adjuvant radiotherapy after reconstruction of oral cancer flaps and to provide evidence for postoperative care.

One hundred thirty-six patients with oral cancer who had undergone adjuvant radiotherapy after reconstruction of skin flaps at 4 affiliated hospitals in Harbin Medical University were selected by convenience sampling. The basic information of the patients with adjuvant radiotherapy after reconstruction of skin flaps was collected, a self-rating scale for depression was used to assess depression, and a questionnaire was used to assess symptom distress. Depression and its influencing factors were determined by multiple stepwise regression analysis.

The average score of depression in patients with oral cancer after skin flap reconstruction was (52.32±13.11): 33.1% of the patients showed mild depression, 21.3% showed moderate depression, and 2.2% showed severe depression. Postoperatively, the patients had pain, dysphagia, taste disorders, temporomandibular joint and salivary gland dysfunction, as well as marital and financial problems. The results showed that dysphagia (P < 0.001), taste disorder (P < 0.001), marital status (P = 0.004) and family income per month (P = 0.011) could be the influencing factors of depression in patients with oral cancer during radiotherapy, and a significant correlation was found between them.

Patients with adjuvant radiotherapy after reconstruction of oral cancer flaps have depressive symptoms, which will seriously affect the quality of life. Therefore, the care of such patients should focus on improving the postoperative depression of patients.