Correlation Between Length of Hospital Stay, Muscle Strength and Functionality in Patients with Gynecological Cancer: Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction:  Gynecological cancers include malignancies of the uterus, ovaries, endometrium, vagina, and vulva. Hospitalization can interfere with the strength and functionality of cancer patients.

Objective:  To evaluate muscle strength (MS) and functional status in patients with gynecological cancer, correlating them with length of hospital stay.

Method:  Analytical cross-sectional study with data collected at Hospital Regional do Agreste, Pernambuco, over a ten-month period. The degree of MS was evaluated by the Medical Research Council (MRC) criteria, and the functional status, by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). The IBM SPSS Statistics software was utilized to tabulate and analyze the data. Correlation was performed using Spearman and Kendall tests.

Results:  The 18 study participants had a mean age of 56 years (±8.8) and predominance of cervical cancer (67%). The most common treatment was chemotherapy (50%) and the average length of hospital stay was five days (±8.5). The average FIM score was 111 points. The average total MRC score was 48 points. The correlation between peripheral MS and functional status (ρ=0.954; r=0.891), between MS and length of hospital stay (ρ=0.953, r=0.886) and between functional status and length of hospital stay (ρ=0.917, r=0.869) was obtained using Spearman's (ρ) and Kendall's (r) correlations, with p≤ 0.01.

Conclusion:  The longer the hospital stay, the greater the functional losses. In this context, the importance of understanding the profile of patients to reduce functional limitations is emphasized.

Key words:
Genital Neoplasms, Female; Hospitalization; Muscle Strength; Functional Status