title: Single item on patients' satisfaction with condition provided additional insight into impact of surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the value of a single item on patients' satisfaction with their condition for assessing outcome in four common surgical procedures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four cohorts undergoing surgery for inguinal hernia (715), varicose veins (539), hip (8,383), or knee (10,187) disease. Patients completed questionnaires before and after surgery that included a single item on satisfaction with their health (based on the International Prostate Symptom Score [IPSS] Bother Question), disease-specific measures of symptoms/disability (Oxford Hip and Knee Scores, Aberdeen Varicose Vein Questionnaire), generic measures of symptoms/disability and of quality of life (QoL) (EQ [EuroQoL]-5D index), and single transitional items. Nonparametric Spearman's correlations explored relationships between measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Before surgery, in all conditions, satisfaction was associated with other dimensions (P<0.05): generic QoL (r=0.5-0.7), disease-specific symptoms/disability (r=0.6-0.8), and generic symptoms/disability (r=0.2-0.4). Significant improvements in satisfaction after surgery correlated strongly with change in disease-specific symptoms/disability (r=0.6 for major operations and r=0.35 for minor surgery) and with single transitional items (r=0.4-0.6) but less so with change in generic QoL (0.3-0.4) and generic symptoms/disability (0.1-0.2).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Inclusion of a single item on satisfaction provides additional insight into the impact of surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Services Research & Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Kirstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Grosse Frie
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van der Meulen
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Black
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / Q000379:methods; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000379:methods; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006552:Hernia, Inguinal / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007592:Joint Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011788:Quality of Life; D012494:Sampling Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014648:Varicose Veins / Q000601:surgery*