title: Using the Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire to evaluate quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: validating a new version for use in Brazil.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to evaluate the applicability of a modified version of the Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire. The version evaluated elicits "agree" and "do not agree", rather than "yes" and "no", responses. The intention is to facilitate the comprehension of double-negative questions and to promote better recollection of symptoms by patients by shortening their symptom histories from 12 months to 3 months.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 30 clinically stable patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were evaluated. The Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire and the modified version of the same were administered 15 days apart.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All of the patients presented health-related alterations in their quality of life. Comparing mean scores between the two questionnaires, the greatest difference was seen in the Symptoms domain. No significant differences were found in any of the remaining domains or in the total scores. In a subsequent analysis, significant correlations between the two questionnaires were found in all domains: Symptoms (r = 0.71; p < 0.001); Activity (r = 0.75; p < 0.001); Impact (r = 0.73; p < 0.001) and Total (r = 0.86; p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The modified version of the Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire is as effective as the original in gauging quality of life. However, various symptoms recollection time frames should be investigated in order to determine which would be the best time frame to employ in the analysis.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil. aquilescamelier@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: Aquiles
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Camelier
authors.forename: Fernanda Warken
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Salim
authors.forename: Oliver Augusto
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Nascimento
authors.forename: Fábio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.forename: José Roberto
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Jardim
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014175:Translating