Abstract 15236: A Systematic Review of the Quality of Life (QOL) Assessment Tools Used in Aortic Dissection in the Context of Survivorship

Abstract

Introduction: The term 'survivorship' describes the therapeutic, functional, psychosocial, and financial experience of living with a chronic condition.This term acknowledges the fact that a patient’s life can be radically altered overnight because of their disease and treatment, but also designates patients as ‘survivors’, having overcome the acute phase (‘acute survivorship’) and now needing to live with, through and beyond their condition (‘extended survivorship’ and ‘permanent survivorship’). The aim of this systematic review was to identify the most frequently used quality of life (QOL) assessment tools and to determine how closely these align to the concept of 'survivorship'. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. Embase, Medline and the Cochrane Library were electronically searched till January 2022 for studies reporting on QOL in aortic dissection patients. Observational studies and case series studies were included. Due to the degree of heterogeneity existing between the studies, a meta-analysis was not conduced. Study quality was assessed using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (ARHQ) methodology checklist. Results: A total of 27 studies were included, encompassing 32 QOL tools. The most common QOL tool utilised was the SF-36, across 11 studies. Only one qualitative study investigated patient perspectives of living with aortic dissection. Overall, QOL was found to be poor in aortic dissection survivors. All identified QOL tools demonstrated a poor alignment with the survivorship domains. Included studies displayed a moderate to high risk of bias, having small sample sizes and an insufficient follow-up period. Conclusion: This review highlights the absence of an aortic dissection specific QOL tool. All QOL tools identified failed to encompass the breadth of survivorship domains, with a lack of studies focusing on the patients’ perspective. Further research is urgently required to gain an insight into the quality of life of patients who have survived an aortic dissection, and to develop an aortic dissection specific QOL tool, underpinned by the survivorship domains.