Page 97 - Functional impairment and cues for rehabilitation of head and neck cancer patients -

Long-term function after CRT and preventive rehabilitation
RESULTS
Baseline characteristics
Of the 22 patients evaluable six years after CRT with preventive rehabilitation (17), 14 patients were evaluable for participation at ten-year plus (see Figure 1 for the study flow chart). Of the eight unevaluable patients, three refused participation (one had lost his wife recently and two had other priorities). One patient could not be evaluated because she had a second primary esophageal carcinoma. Four patients had died in the meantime. Three died of unrelated causes (one died from injuries after a fall off stairs, one from heart failure, and one from a status epilepticus caused by a glioblastoma). The fourth patient died at home at the age of 76 from respiratory insufficiency caused by a pneumonia of unknown etiology. The median follow- up of the 14 evaluable patients was 128 months (range 120–139 months) after the start of CRT. None of the patients continued with the (preventive) exercises after one-year post CRT. Baseline characteristics are presented in Table 1.
Figure 1 Flow chart with patient numbers at all follow-up moments and reasons for exclusion.
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