title: Quality of life after pulmonary embolism: validation of the French version of the PEmb-QoL questionnaire.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The PEmb-QoL is a validated 40-item questionnaire to quantify health-related quality of life in patients having experienced pulmonary embolism (PE). It covers six health dimensions: frequency of complaints, activities of daily living limitations, work-related problems, social limitations, intensity of complaints, and emotional complaints. Originally developed in Dutch and English, we sought to prospectively validate the psychometric properties of a French version of the PEmb-QoL.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a forward and backward translation of the English version of the PEmb-QoL into French. French-speaking consecutive adult patients with an acute, objectively confirmed PE admitted to the emergency department of a Swiss university hospital between 08/2009 and 09/2011 were recruited telephonically. We used standard psychometric tests and criteria to evaluate the acceptability, reliability, and validity of the French version of the PEmb-QoL. We also performed an exploratory factor analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 102 patients were enrolled in the study. The French version of the PEmb-QoL showed good reliability (internal consistency, item-total and inter-item correlations), reproducibility (test-retest reliability), and validity (convergent, discriminant) in French-speaking patients with PE. The exploratory factor analysis suggested three underlying dimensions: limitations in daily activity (items 4b-m, 5a-d), symptoms (items 1a-h and 7), and emotional complaints (items 9a-f and j).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We successfully validated the French version of the PEmb-QoL questionnaire in patients with PE. Our results show that the PEmb-QoL is a valuable tool for assessing health-related quality of life after PE in French-speaking patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, CHUV, Rue du Bugnon 46, 1011, Lausanne, Switzerland. Mathilde.Rochat@chuv.ch.
authors.forename: Mathilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rochat
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland. marie.mean@chuv.ch.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Méan
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Research, and Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM), CTU Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. alimacher@ctu.unibe.ch.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Limacher
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland. olivier.hugli@chuv.ch.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hugli
authors.affiliation: Department of Thrombosis and Hemostasis, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands. F.A.Klok@lumc.nl.
authors.forename: Frederikus A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Klok
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular Medicine, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. d.m.cohn@amc.uva.nl.
authors.forename: Danny M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Cohn
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland. Drahomir.Aujesky@insel.ch.
authors.forename: Drahomir
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aujesky
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014177:Translations