Quality of life after pulmonary embolism: validation of the PEmb-QoL Questionnaire.
BACKGROUND
Even though quality of life (QoL) has become a key component of medical care, there is no instrument available that specifically measures QoL after pulmonary embolism (PE). Recently, the Pulmonary Embolism Quality of Life (PEmb-QoL) Questionnaire has been developed to address this gap.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the validity of the PEmb-QoL questionnaire.


METHODS
We distributed the PEmb-QoL questionnaire and the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire twice among consecutive subjects with a history of objectively confirmed acute PE. Internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, convergent validity and criterion validity, and correlations between the PEmb-QoL and clinical patient characteristics were assessed using standard-scale construction techniques.


RESULTS
Ninety participants completed the questionnaires twice. Internal consistency was adequate (Cronbach's alpha 0.62-0.94), as well as test-retest reliability (intra-class correlation coefficients: 0.78-0.94). Furthermore, correlation between the PEmb-QoL questionnaire and the SF-36 questionnaire supported convergent validity. Age, obesity, cardiopulmonary comorbidity, centrally located PE and a family history of venous thromboembolism were shown to be independent determinants of disease-specific QoL.


CONCLUSIONS
The PEmb-QoL questionnaire is a reliable instrument to specifically assess QoL following PE, which is helpful in the identification of patients with decreased QoL following acute PE.
Klok
F A
FA
Section of Vascular Medicine, Department of General Internal Medicine-Endocrinology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands. F.A.Klok@LUMC.nl
Cohn
D M
DM
Middeldorp
S
S
Scharloo
M
M
Büller
H R
HR
van Kralingen
K W
KW
Kaptein
A A
AA
Huisman
M V
MV
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D015588:Observer Variation; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires