Impact of the coronavirus-2019 outbreak to hemophilia patients in Chulalongkorn Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society

Abstract

Introduction: Hemophilia is a congenital bleeding disorder caused by a deficiency of coagulation factor VIII and IX, which results in spontaneous bleeding into joint and muscle. In term of prophylactic treatment, the majority of our patients must have come to the hospital for intravenous injection with factor concentrate twice weekly. In Thailand, the coronavirus-2019 outbreak situation was a major public health problem that it’s an irregular condition. Most of Hemophilia’s patient appointment was postponed until the situation will be improved. Therefore, this study was evaluated the effect of quality of life in the patient and their family.
Objective: To study the impact on the quality of life of hemophilia patients in Chulalongkorn Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society, during the coronavirus-2019 outbreak situation.                                                                                                                                                                  Method: Cross-Sectional Descriptive study, the selection criteria was the patients with severe or moderate symptom and their family (N=20). The data was collected during (Jan - Mar 2020) and after (Jan 2021) the coronavirus-2019 outbreak situation by using the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire (Thai version) and interviews with patients or caregivers.                                                                                                  Result: According to the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire revealed that a coronavirus-2019 outbreak situation had little effect on patients with five modules of life (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression). Moreover, most patients concern about the factor treatment receiving that leads to anxiety/depression condition in their family. However, the utility score of during/after coronavirus-2019 outbreak situation was 0.733 and 0.785 respectively that means the patients were satisfied with their quality of life.
Conclusion: The current coronavirus-2019 outbreak’s communicable risk and travel restrictions have caused some anxiety/depression to Hemophilia patients and their families as these have lead to cancellations of appointments and missed factor injections. Surprisingly, however, their utility scores reflect a satisfactory quality of life, which could most likely be linked to the timely introduction of the artificial blood vessels enabling self-administration of factor injections within a non-hospital setting.