Early Symptoms and Duration of Time before Visiting Hospital of Patients with Brain Tumor

Abstract

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the early symptoms of patients with brain tumors. We also assessed the duration of time between the symptom development and hospital visit. [Subjects and Methods] In this retrospective study, we assessed the medical histories of 70 patients diagnosed with malignant brain tumor. We investigated the early symptoms and the duration of time between noticing the early symptoms and visiting hospital, and compared the duration of times between symptom development and hospital visit of different early symptoms. [Results] The number of patients and delay until hospital visit for each symptom were: cognitive dysfunction, 18 patients (34.5 ± 25.9 days); motor paralysis, 11 patients (12.4 ± 10.2 days); headache or nausea, 15 patients (14.2 ± 9.6 days); seizure, 10 patients (0 days); and other symptoms, 16 patients. It was observed that the patients who displayed cognitive dysfunction as an early symptom took the longest time to visit hospital. [Conclusion] Our results show that cognitive dysfunction can be an important early symptom of patients with brain tumor. It is important to observe cognitive function carefully.