Abstracto

Psychiatric manifestations of head and neck cancers as seen in a private tertiary hospital in South West Nigeria.

Akinola Moses A*, Adeyeye Rachael A, Fasesan O, Bamigboye Babatunde A, Nkemjika Benjamin N

Background: Psychiatric problems of patents with head and neck cancers usually result from disfguring, illness and treatment, adjustment to alteratons of speech, eatng and other functons including sexual actvity. Alteraton of body image, speech and eatng are ofen seen. Psychiatry co morbidites are generally common fndings in head and neck cancer patents. The major associated psychiatric disorders in them are anxiety and depression.
Materials and Methods: Reports of four of our patents diagnosed of Head and Neck Malignancies who developed psychiatric symptoms in the course of treatment are presented. The medical records of the patents were retrieved, informaton sought included bio-data, clinical and histological informaton as well as treatment progression.
Results: A 55 y old male with transglotc malignant laryngeal tumor developed severe depression in the course of treatment. A second 45 y old male diagnosed of a malignant sinonasal tumor developed Chemotherapy induced psychosis to rule out a frontal lobe syndrome. The third 44 y old female with malignant sinonasal tumor developed low mood while on treatment but did not meet the criteria for a psychiatric illness. The 4th, a 76 y old male diagnosed of a malignant laryngeal tumor became delirious following diagnosis and did not take up the treatment o?ered.
Conclusion: The tendency for patents with head and neck tumors to develop psychiatric disorders in the course of management is high on account of visible changes in body structures and limitatons of functons. Recommendatons: There is the need for a multdisciplinary approach and the relevance of psychiatrists and psychologists in pretreatment evaluaton as well as in the course of treatment.