Australian Vascular Quality of Life Index (AUSVIQUOL): a pilot study of a disease-specific quality of life measure.
BACKGROUND
To develop and test a quality of life (QOL) index specific for patients with vascular disease and appropriate for patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in the clinical setting.


METHODS
The questions and domains of the Australian Vascular Quality of Life Index (AUSVIQUOL) were determined by examination of a prospective database for frequency of symptoms and an in-depth interview of a sample population. The validity of the AUSVIQUOL was tested by comparing it with the Medical Outcomes Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) in a study involving 60 patients who underwent endovascular AAA repair and 48 open AAA repair. A subpopulation of 22 patients representative of the two groups was then reassessed using the SF-36 and the AUSVIQUOL, to compare the reliability of the two indices.


RESULTS
Similar domains of the SF-36 and the AUSVIQUOL measured common QOL elements. The correlation between the two indices was moderate; the AUSVIQUOL measured additional disease-specific QOL factors. The AUSVIQUOL showed better reliability than the SF-36 in all domains and statistically better in the physical function domain (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The AUSVIQUOL is an appropriate tool for the QOL assessment of patients with AAA in the clinical setting.
Borchard
Katel A
KA
Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. kborchard@postoffice.utas.edu.au
Hewitt
Peter M
PM
Wotherspoon
Simon
S
Scott
Alan R
AR