Abstract
BackgroundThe PEmb-QoL is a validated 40-item questionnaire to quantify health-related quality of life in patients having experienced pulmonary embolism (PE). It covers six health dimensions: frequency of complaints, activities of daily living limitations, work-related problems, social limitations, intensity of complaints, and emotional complaints. Originally developed in Dutch and English, we sought to prospectively validate the psychometric properties of a French version of the PEmb-QoL.MethodsWe performed a forward and backward translation of the English version of the PEmb-QoL into French. French-speaking consecutive adult patients with an acute, objectively confirmed PE admitted to the emergency department of a Swiss university hospital between 08/2009 and 09/2011 were recruited telephonically. We used standard psychometric tests and criteria to evaluate the acceptability, reliability, and validity of the French version of the PEmb-QoL. We also performed an exploratory factor analysis.ResultsOverall, 102 patients were enrolled in the study. The French version of the PEmb-QoL showed good reliability (internal consistency, item–total and inter-item correlations), reproducibility (test-retest reliability), and validity (convergent, discriminant) in French-speaking patients with PE. The exploratory factor analysis suggested three underlying dimensions: limitations in daily activity (items 4b-m, 5a-d), symptoms (items 1a-h and 7), and emotional complaints (items 9a-f and j).ConclusionWe successfully validated the French version of the PEmb-QoL questionnaire in patients with PE. Our results show that the PEmb-QoL is a valuable tool for assessing health-related quality of life after PE in French-speaking patients.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12955-014-0174-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Acute venous thromboembolism (VTE), defined as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and/or pulmonary embolism (PE), is common and has a high impact on morbidity, mortality, and costs of care [1,2]
Besides the transient discomfort related to acute VTE, health-related quality of life is substantially influenced by the development of VTE-related complications [3]
While instruments to measure disease-specific quality of life exist for patients with DVT [6], the Pulmonary Embolism Quality of Life (PEmb-QoL) questionnaire was only recently developed to address health-related quality of life in patients having experienced PE [7,8]
Summary
Acute venous thromboembolism (VTE), defined as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and/or pulmonary embolism (PE), is common and has a high impact on morbidity, mortality, and costs of care [1,2]. While instruments to measure disease-specific quality of life exist for patients with DVT [6], the Pulmonary Embolism Quality of Life (PEmb-QoL) questionnaire was only recently developed to address health-related quality of life in patients having experienced PE [7,8]. The PEmb-QoL is a validated 40-item questionnaire to quantify health-related quality of life in patients having experienced pulmonary embolism (PE). It covers six health dimensions: frequency of complaints, activities of daily living limitations, work-related problems, social limitations, intensity of complaints, and emotional complaints. Developed in Dutch and English, we sought to prospectively validate the psychometric properties of a French version of the PEmb-QoL
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