[Evaluation of a quality of life scale (AIMS2) in rheumatology].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the feasibility, relevance, and sensitivity of the French version of the revised Arthritis Impact Measurement Scale (AIMS2) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis of the hip.


METHODS
translation of the English-language AIMS2 into French using the back-to-back technique; evaluation of feasibility on the basis of a) time needed to complete the AIMS2; b) percentage of questionnaires with at least one missing answer or one answer indicating that the question was misunderstood; evaluation of relevance on the basis of correlations between AIMS2 scores and conventional parameters for evaluating the activity of rheumatoid arthritis (85 patients); evaluation of sensitivity on the basis of total hip replacement-induced improvements in AIMS2 scores versus other conventional scores used to evaluate activity of osteoarthritis of the hip (48 patients).


RESULTS
feasibility, mean time needed to complete the AIMS2 was 23 minutes in rheumatoid arthritis patients and 26 minutes in osteoarthritis patients. Forty per cent of patients failed to answer at least one question and 21% misunderstood at least one question; relevance: conventional parameters used in rheumatoid arthritis accounted for 51% of AIMS2 score variance, suggesting that the AIMS2 provided information not supplied by conventional parameters. SENSITIVITY: after total hip replacement for osteoarthritis, there were statistically significant decreases in all AIMS2 scores (with the exception of function and work).


CONCLUSIONS
These data suggest that the AIMS2 score is not an easy evaluation tool but is both relevant and sensitive. These findings require confirmation by longitudinal studies.
Poiraudeau
S
S
Clinique de Rhumatologie, Hôpital Cochin, Paris.
Dougados
M
M
Ait-Hadad
H
H
Pion-Graff
J
J
Ayral
X
X
Listrat
V
V
Courpied
J P
JP
Amor
B
B
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006622:Hip Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015207:Osteoarthritis, Hip / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Evaluation d'une échelle de qualité de vie (AIMS2) en rhumatologie.