title: Quality of life after pulmonary embolism: Prospective validation of the German version of the PEmb-QoL questionnaire.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Pulmonary Embolism Quality of Life questionnaire (PEmb-QoL) is a 40-item questionnaire to measure health-related quality of life in patients with pulmonary embolism. It covers six 6 dimensions: frequency of complaints, limitations in activities of daily living, work-related problems, social limitations, intensity of complaints, and emotional complaints. Originally developed in Dutch and English, we prospectively validated a German version of the PEmb-QoL.
  
  
  METHODS
  A forward-backward translation of the English version of the PEmb-QoL into German was performed. German-speaking consecutive adult patients aged ≥18 years with an acute, objectively confirmed pulmonary embolism discharged from a Swiss university hospital (01/2011-06/2013) were recruited telephonically. Established psychometric tests and criteria were used to evaluate the acceptability, reliability, and validity of the German PEmb-QoL questionnaire. To assess the underlying dimensions, an exploratory factor analysis was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 102 patients were enrolled in the study. The German version of the PEmb-QoL showed a good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.72 to 0.96), item-total (0.53-0.95) and inter-item correlations (>0.4), and test-retest reliability (intra-class correlation coefficients 0.59-0.89) for the dimension scores. A moderate correlation of the PEmb-QoL with SF-36 dimension and summary scores (0.21-0.83) indicated convergent validity, while low correlations of PEmb-QoL dimensions with clinical characteristics (-0.16-0.37) supported discriminant validity. The exploratory factor analysis suggested four underlying dimensions: limitations in daily activities, symptoms, work-related problems, and emotional complaints.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The German version of the PEmb-QoL questionnaire is a valid and reliable disease-specific measure for quality of life in patients with pulmonary embolism.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland. Electronic address: pascal.frey@insel.ch.
authors.forename: Pascal M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Frey
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland; Department of General Internal Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Méan
authors.affiliation: CTU Bern, Department of Clinical Research, and Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Limacher
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Waltraud
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Leiss
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schwab
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Mathilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rochat
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
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; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010351:Patient Discharge; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013557:Switzerland; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Pulmonary Embolism; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Validation Studies