Determining strategies for psychological support in rehabilitation of patients with esophageal varices in the early postoperative period

Background. Despite numerous data on the impossibility of effective rehabilitation of somatic patients without taking into account their psychological status, the psychological profile of patients with esophageal varices remains unexplored and not taken into account in the early postoperative period. Aim. The paper aims to identify the psychological features of patients with esophageal varices to determine promising strategies for increasing the effectiveness of the rehabilitation process in the early postoperative period. Materials and methods. The sample included 22 patients with a verified diagnosis of I 85.9 (ICD-10) and a disease duration of 1 year, who underwent in-hospital treatment in connection with the forthcoming endoscopic sclerosis. Structured clinical interviews and a detailed self-assessment test of disease significance, anxiety level, depression, awareness skills and a system of fundamental cognitive beliefs were conducted. Statistical processing was performed using the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Results. Both subclinical and clinical anxiety was diagnosed in 7 patients (31.81 %) each. No correlation was found between age, disease duration, the number of hospitalizations and the expression of anxiety and depressive symptoms. A high or very high effect of esophageal varices was revealed on the following spheres of social status - a limited feeling of strength and energy (90.9 %), career restrictions (81.8 %), material damage (77.2 %), limited pleasure (68.1 %). The relationship between self-assessment of disease significance (experiencing the impact of the disease on various spheres of life), awareness skills and the system of cognitive beliefs was reliably confirmed. Conclusion. Effective rehabilitation of patients with esophageal varices using the strategies of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy during the early postoperative period has been proven.