title: Assessment of patient outcome with the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure questionnaire: reliability and validity during a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of pimobendan. Pimobendan Multicenter Research Group.
abstract: To determine the reliability and validity of a patient outcome questionnaire for chronic heart failure, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 3-month trial of pimobendan, an investigational medication with inotropic and vasodilator activities, was performed. Evaluated were 198 ambulatory patients with primarily New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III heart failure from 20 referral centers. Baseline therapy included digoxin, diuretics and, in 80%, a converting enzyme inhibitor. Oral pimobendan at 2.5 (n = 49), 5.0 (n = 51), or 10 (n = 49) mg daily or matching placebo (n = 49) was administered. The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure (LIhFE) questionnaire was a primary outcome measure, along with an exercise test. Interitem correlations identified subgroups of questions representing physical and emotional dimensions. Repeated baseline scores were highly correlated (r = 0.93), as were the physical (r = 0.89) and emotional (r = 0.88) dimension scores. Placebo did not have a significant effect with median (25th, 75th percentile) changes from baseline scores of 1 (-3, 5), 1 (-2, 3), and 0 (-1, 2), respectively (all p values greater than 0.10). The 5 mg dose significantly improved the total score, 7.5 (0, 18; p = 0.01) and the physical dimension, 4 (0, 8; p = 0.01), compared with placebo. Changes in the total (r = 0.33; p less than 0.01) and physical (r = 0.35; p less than 0.01) scores were weakly related to changes in exercise times, but corresponded well with changes in patients' ratings of dyspnea and fatigue.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Division, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis 55455.
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Rector
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Cohn
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D001294:Attitude to Health; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011724:Pyridazines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D011724:Pyridazines; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; C041648:pimobendan