Comparison of Different Disease-Specific Health-Related Quality of Life Measurements in Patients with Long-Term Noninvasive Ventilation

Abstract EN

Background.

Two disease-specific questionnaires have been developed to assess health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with chronic respiratory failure: the Severe Respiratory Insufficiency (SRI) Questionnaire and the Maugeri Respiratory Failure (MRF) Questionnaire.

We aimed to compare the characteristics of the SRI, MRF-26, and St.

George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) for use in patients with home noninvasive ventilation (NIV).

Methods.

Fifty-six outpatients receiving long-term NIV were recruited and underwent assessments of pulmonary function, arterial blood gas, HRQL, dyspnea, and psychological status.

Results.

Correlations of the SRI and MRF-26 with the SGRQ were modest.

While pulmonary function was weakly related to only some domains of the SRI and MRF-26, the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were significantly related to all domains of the SRI and MRF-26.

Multiple regression analyses showed that HADS depression and mMRC accounted for 34% and 27% of the variance in the SRI, 24% and 37% in the MRF-26, and 17% and 46% in the SGRQ, respectively.

Conclusions.

The SRI and MRF-26 were reliable questionnaires for patients receiving long-term NIV.

Dyspnea and psychological status were their main common determinants.

The SRI covers more psychological health impairments than the MRF.

This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00905476.