title: Evaluation of the responsiveness of the Impact of Pediatric Epilepsy Scale.
abstract: The Impact of Pediatric Epilepsy Scale (IPES) is an epilepsy-specific, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaire that is brief, accurate, and valid and assesses the influence of epilepsy on the child and family. This study prospectively investigates the responsiveness of the IPES, 3 years after the IPES questionnaire was initially validated. The same parents or caregivers completed the IPES. Changes in IPES scores were compared with changes in epilepsy severity. IPES Total scores were highly related to change in seizure severity (Wilks' lambda F (3, 11)=5.0, P<0.001). Those whose seizure severity decreased had decreased IPES scores (indicating improvement of HRQOL); those with increased seizure severity had increased IPES scores and reported poorer HRQOL; and those with no change in seizure severity had no change in the IPES score and no change in HRQOL. In conclusion, the IPES is useful for measurement of a child's epilepsy-specific HRQOL during treatment and is responsive to changes in epilepsy severity over time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada, IWK Health Centre, PO Box 9700, Halifax, NS, Canada B3K 6R8.
authors.forename: Genevieve M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Breau
authors.forename: Carol S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Camfield
authors.forename: Peter R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Camfield
authors.forename: Lynn M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Breau
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010372:Pediatrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires