PURPOSE: Urolithiasis is associated with pain and other health-related quality of life (QOL) decrements.
Yet there is no urolithiasis-specific instrument to measure QOL. QOL is an important endpoint in the management of urolithiasis. We developed the Wisconsin StoneQOL, a disease-specific instrument to assess the QOL of patients with urolithiasis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients and urology providers identified important concepts related to stone formers' QOL in groups and in individual cognitive interviews. Patients were recurrent stone formers and included both those with and without current stones. A preliminary instrument was created, followed by patient feedback and item reduction. A 28-question instrument was ultimately developed and tested for reliability and internal face, construct, and discriminant validity in 248 stone formers.
RESULTS: Internal consistency (for questions within domains) is high (mean Cronbach's-α = 0.81). Correlation between domains is confirmed (Cronbach's-α = 0.86). Discriminant validity is shown as stone formers with current stones score lower than those who are stone-free. Among patients with active stones, patients with symptoms score lower on most questions and for total score (P < 0.0001) than patients who were asymptomatic.
CONCLUSIONS: The Wisconsin StoneQOL holds great promise as a disease-specific instrument that captures the unique symptoms and challenges associated with urolithiasis. As such, the Wisconsin StoneQOL is capable of assessing the health-related QOL of stone formers at various points along the disease continuum. Future assessment will establish minimal clinically important differences for use in individual patients.
Written by:
Penniston KL, Nakada SY. Are you the author?
Department of Urology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI.
Reference: J Urol. 2012 Sep 24. pii: S0022-5347(12)04962-2.
doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2012.08.247
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23017521
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