title: Validating the Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality Of Life Scale in a sample of Dutch patients recently diagnosed with vestibular schwannoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the validity of the Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality-of-Life Scale (PANQOL) in a sample of Dutch patients recently diagnosed with vestibular schwannoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study in a university tertiary referral center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between April 2011 and March 2012 consecutive patients (mean age, 56.4; range, 17-85 yr) diagnosed with vestibular schwannoma (n = 155) were included. The PANQOL was translated into Dutch according to the accepted rules of forward-backward translation. Quality of life at diagnosis was measured with the generic SF-36 and the disease-specific PANQOL. Factor analysis was used to explore the factor structure of the PANQOL. The scores of the patients in the current study were compared with those of patients from the United States of America. Correlations between SF-36 and PANQOL were examined to study psychometric characteristics of the PANQOL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred nineteen patients (76.8%) completed the questionnaires. SF-36 scores are comparable to previously published studies measuring Quality of Life at diagnosis. Factor analysis on our data has confirmed the original 7-dimensional structure of the PANQOL. The PANQOL scores from the Dutch and the USA patients are comparable. Correlations between PANQOL and SF-36 dimensions corroborate the validity of the Dutch PANQOL version.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Vestibular schwannoma patients experience a reduced quality of life immediately after the diagnostic process. The PANQOL seems to be a valid disease-specific measure of quality of life in Dutch patients who have recently been diagnosed with vestibular schwannoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands. b.m.van_leeuwen@lumc.nl
authors.forename: Bibian M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: van Leeuwen
authors.forename: Jasmijn M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Herruer
authors.forename: Hein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Putter
authors.forename: Jeroen C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.forename: Andel G L
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: van der Mey
authors.forename: Adrian A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Kaptein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D009464:Neuroma, Acoustic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult