title: Assessing health status in inflammatory bowel disease using a novel single-item numeric rating scale.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Current instruments used to measure disease activity and health-related quality of life in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are often cumbersome, time-consuming, and expensive; although used in clinical trials, they are not convenient for clinical practice. A numeric rating scale (NRS) is a quick, inexpensive, and convenient patient-reported outcome that can capture the patient's overall perception of health.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess the validity, reliability, and responsiveness of an NRS and evaluate its use in clinical practice in patients with CD and UC.
  
  
  METHODS
  We prospectively evaluated patient-reported NRS scores and measured correlations between NRS and a range of severity measures, including physician-reported NRS, Crohn's disease activity index (CDAI), Harvey-Bradshaw index (HBI), inflammatory bowel disease questionnaire (IBDQ), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with CD. Subsequently, we evaluated the correlation between the NRS and standard measures of health status (HBI or simple colitis clinical activity index [SCCAI]) and laboratory tests (sedimentation rate [ESR], CRP, and fecal calprotectin) in patients with CD and UC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patient-reported NRS showed excellent correlation with CDAI (R (2) = 0.59, p < 0.0001), IBDQ (R (2) = 0.66, p < 0.0001), and HBI (R (2) = 0.32, p < 0.0001) in patients with CD. The NRS showed poor, but statistically significant correlation with SCCAI (R (2) = 0.25, p < 0.0001) in patients with UC. The NRS did not correlate with CRP, ESR, or calprotectin. The NRS was reliable and responsive to change.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The NRS is a valid, reliable, and responsive measure that may be useful to evaluate patients with CD and possibly UC.
authors.affiliation: F. Widjaja Foundation Inflammatory Bowel and Immunobiology Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8635 W. 3rd St. #960-Wv, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.
authors.forename: Bijal
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Surti
authors.forename: Brennan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Spiegel
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ippoliti
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Vasiliauskas
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: David Q
authors.initials: DQ
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: Stephan R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Targan
authors.forename: Dermot P B
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: McGovern
authors.forename: Gil Y
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Melmed
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000097:blood / Q000628:therapy; D003424:Crohn Disease; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012074:Remission Induction; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein