Development of a disease specific questionnaire to measure health related quality of life in patients with chronic liver disease

Abstract

Background and aims - To develop and assess a disease specific instrument for measuring health related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). Methods - Based on responses from 60 patients with chronic liver disease, from 20 liver experts, and from a Medline search of the literature, items potentially affecting the HRQL of these patients were identified. A separate sample of 75 patients identified which items they found problematic and rated their importance. Results were explored using factor analysis; domains were chosen and items placed within domains. Redundant questions were eliminated and the final questionnaire was pretested in 10 patients. Using this instrument, HRQL was assessed in a further 133 patients with various types and stages of liver disease. Results - Patients, experts, and the literature search identified 156 items of potential importance. Of these, 35 proved important to over 50% of 75 respondents in the item reduction sample. The factor analysis suggested six domains. After eliminating redundancies, the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ) included 29 items in the following domains: fatigue, activity, emotional function, abdominal symptoms, systemic symptoms, and worry. In pretesting, patients found the CLDQ clear and easy to complete in 10 minutes. In another 133 patients, the CLDQ showed a gradient between patients without cirrhosis, Child's A cirrhosis, and those with Child's B or C cirrhosis. CLDQ has evidence for moderate reliability at six months and seems to be responsive. Conclusion - The CLDQ is short, easy to administer, produces both a summary score and domain scores, and correlates with the severity of liver disease.