Quality of life assessment of patients with and without venous ulcer1

OBJECTIVES to compare the quality of life of patients with chronic venous disease with and without ulcer and to identify the most affected aspects. METHOD cross-sectional study with a sample of 204 patients with chronic venous disease. The quality of life was assessed with the help of the SF-36 questionnaire. To compare the scores between the groups, the Mann-Whitney test was used, considering a statistically significant difference when p<0.05. RESULTS the quality of life score of patients with ulcer was lower when compared to that of patients without ulcer, in all domains and dimensions of the SF-36, particularly in the domains physical aspect and functional capacity, with very low scores. CONCLUSION all aspects of quality of life were more compromised in people with ulcers. These findings can contribute towards a better understanding of the effects of chronic venous disease on the quality of life and towards a better orientation of therapeutic interventions in this population.