Scores In Most Domains Research Articles

Reduction in Oral Corticosteroid Use with Mometasone Furoate Dry Powder Inhaler Improves Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Severe Persistent Asthma

Severe persistent asthma can have a substantial impact on a patient's health-related quality of life (HRQL), both as a result of symptoms and from side effects of treatment. The HRQL impact of two doses (400 and 800 µg twice daily) of mometasone furoate dry powder inhaler (MF DPI) was compared with placebo in patients with severe persistent asthma previously maintained on oral steroids as a component of a previously published randomized, 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial. A 9-month open-label extension (OLE), with all patients treated with MF DPI, followed. Patients 12 years of age or older completed a generic HRQL measure, the Medical Outcomes Trust Short Form-36 (SF-36), and an asthma-specific measure, the Marks Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ-M), at baseline, at endpoint (last evaluable visit) of the double-blind phase (EODBP), and after the first 3 months of the OLE. Of 132 patients enrolled in the study, 128 provided HRQL data at baseline and at EODBP. Mean SF-36 scores at baseline showed significant HRQL impairment compared with U.S. general population norms. With treatment, the reduction in oral corticosteroid (OCS) requirements of the MF-DPI–treated groups was accompanied by significant (p < 0.05) improvement over placebo in the physical domain of HRQL (SF-36 physical component summary score and the physical function subscale) at EODBP. MF-DPI–treated patients also showed significant improvements at EODBP in each of the four subscales of the AQLQ-M (p < 0.05). From EODBP to the OLE 3-month endpoint, patients treated with MF DPI twice daily maintained, or improved, SF-36 scores in most domains. Symptomatic improvement and reduction in OCS use with MF DPI were accompanied by significant improvement in HRQL in patients with severe persistent asthma. These improvements were maintained during the 3-month period of the OLE in which HRQL was evaluated.

The Spanish version of the Child Health and Illness Profile-Adolescent Edition (CHIP-AE).

The aim of the study was to obtain a conceptually equivalent Spanish version of the Child Health and Illness Profile-Adolescent Edition (CHIP-AE), and to test its feasibility, reliability and preliminary construct validity. The methodology used for adaptation was forward-back translation, including two focus groups with adolescents and a panel of experts. Reliability and validity were assessed in healthy convenience samples from school settings (n = 417). Three different illness groups (n = 67) were used to examine differences in health status between healthy, acutely ill, chronically ill and mentally ill adolescents. Preliminary construct validity was examined by comparing mean scores for each of the subdomains to determine if they differed in predicted ways according to age, gender and illness group. The majority of items (154 out of 203) were conceptually equivalent to the original version. Some items (46) had to be modified to increase clarity and/or to adapt them for use in Spain and 3 items were considered not applicable. Single construct subdomains achieved alpha coefficients between 0.65 and 0.92, and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) between 0.57 and 0.93. The mentally ill group presented the worst scores in most domains. The Spanish CHIP-AE is acceptable for Spanish adolescents and shows adequate metric characteristics, which are similar to those reported in the US version.