Quality of life utilities for pelvic inflammatory disease health states.
OBJECTIVE
Quality of life utilities for health states associated with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) have been estimated but not directly measured. Utilities for PID could have important implications on the cost-effectiveness of interventions to prevent and manage this disease.


METHODS
We obtained, in women with versus without a history of PID, visual analogue scale (VAS) and time-tradeoff (TTO) valuations for 5 PID-associated health states: ambulatory PID treatment, hospital PID treatment, ectopic pregnancy, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility. Subjects read brief scenarios describing the medical, functional, and social activity effects typically associated with each state, then gave valuations in the order above.


RESULTS
Health state valuations were obtained from 56 women with and 150 women without a PID history. Subjects with a PID history had significantly lower mean valuations (P <0.05) on the VAS for ectopic pregnancy (0.55 vs. 0.63), pelvic pain (0.45 vs. 0.53), and infertility (0.53 vs. 0.66) but not on the TTO; VAS differences remained significant when controlling for demographic and childbearing characteristics. VAS and TTO valuations were similar in women with versus without a history of PID for the ambulatory and hospital PID treatment health states.


CONCLUSIONS
PID has substantial impact on utility. In addition, some PID-related health states are valued less by women who have experienced PID, which could affect cost-effectiveness analyses of PID treatments when examined from the societal versus patient perspective.
Smith
Kenneth J
KJ
Section of Decision Sciences and Clinical Systems Modeling, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. smithkj2@upmc.edu
Tsevat
Joel
J
Ness
Roberta B
RB
Wiesenfeld
Harold C
HC
Roberts
Mark S
MS
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D010147:Pain Measurement; D000292:Pelvic Inflammatory Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000191:economics* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D017699:Pelvic Pain; D010414:Pennsylvania; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health