Emotional and Clinical Aspects Observed in Women with Gestational Trophoblastic Disease: A Multidisciplinary Action
Ana Carolina Gomes França, Elza Maria Hartmann Uberti, Karine Paiva Muller, Rodrigo Bernardes Cardoso, Fabiana Giguer, Patrícia El Beitune, Antônio Braga
Abstract
Abstract Objective To evaluate the emotional and clinical aspects observed in women with gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) followed-up in a reference center (RC) by a multidisciplinary team. Methods Retrospective cohort study of the clinical records of 186 women with GTD and of the emotional aspects (EA) observed in these women by a team of psychologists and reported by the 389 support groups conducted from 2014 to 2018. Results The women were young (mean age: 31.2 years), 47% had no living child, 60% had planned the pregnancy, and 50% participated in two or more SG. Most women (n = 137; 73.6%) reached spontaneous remission of molar gestation in a median time of 10 weeks and had a total follow-up time of seven months. In the group of 49 women (26.3%) who progressed to gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN), time to remission after chemotherapy was 18 weeks, and total follow-up time was 36 months. EA included different levels of anxiety and depression, more evident in 9.1% of the women; these symptoms tended to occur more frequently in women older than 40 years (p = 0.067), less educated (p = 0.054), and whose disease progressed to GTN (p = 0.018), as well as in those who had to undergo multi-agent chemotherapy (p = 0.028) or hysterectomy (p = 0.001) adjuvant to clinical treatment. Conclusion This study found several EA in association with all types of GTD. It also highlights the importance of specialized care only found in a RC, essential to support the recovery of the mental health of these women.