Measuring the quality of life in patients with venous ulcers.
OBJECTIVE
This prospective study aimed to validate a newly designed specific measure of quality of life for patients with venous ulcers.


METHODS
The study was set in a London teaching hospital and surrounding community clinics. Items for the questionnaire were selected by means of patient interviews, a literature review, and expert opinion. The questionnaire and the Short Form 36-item (SF-36) Health Survey were given to a prospective consecutive cohort of 98 patients with proven venous ulcers that were diagnosed by means of clinical and color duplex examination. Fifty-eight of the patients were women (60%), and the median age of patients was 76 years. The questionnaire was assessed for reliability, validity, and responsiveness.


RESULTS
The ulcer-specific questionnaire showed good reliability, as assessed by means of the internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.93) and test-retest analysis (r = 0.84). Factor analysis identified four important health factors: social function, domestic activities, cosmesis, and emotional status. Validity was demonstrated by means of a high correlation with all eight domains of the SF-36 general health measure (r > 0.55, P <.001). Responsiveness was demonstrated by means of a significant reduction in the score on the ulcer questionnaire as ulcers healed at 6 and 11 weeks (P <.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Good evidence exists that a clinically derived measure for patients with venous ulcers has validity to measure the quality of life.
Smith
J J
JJ
Department of Vascular Surgery, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, Charing Cross Hospital, London, UK.
Guest
M G
MG
Greenhalgh
R M
RM
Davies
A H
AH
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004644:Emotions; D004954:Esthetics; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012917:Social Adjustment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color; D018616:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Duplex; D014647:Varicose Ulcer / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D014945:Wound Healing