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ABSTRACT: Background
While the importance of patients' quality of life (QoL) in chronic cardiac or pulmonary disease is uncontroversial, the burden of an acute pulmonary embolism (PE) on QoL has received little attention thus far.Objectives
We aimed to validate the German PEmb-QoL questionnaire, identify associations between QoL and clinical/functional parameters, and investigate the prognostic relevance of QoL for long-term survival in survivors of an acute PE episode.Patients/methods
Patients were invited for a clinical follow-up visit including assessment of QoL using the German PEmb-QoL questionnaire 6 months after an objectively confirmed PE at a single center. Internal consistency reliability, construct-related validity, and regressions between PEmb-QoL and clinical patient-characteristics were assessed using standard scale construction techniques.Results
Overall, 101 patients [median age, 69 ([interquartile range] IQR 57-75) years; women, 48.5%] were examined 208 (IQR 185-242) days after PE. Internal consistency reliability and construct-related validity of the PEmb-QoL questionnaire were acceptable. As many as 47.0% of patients reported dyspnea, 27.5% had right ventricular (RV) dysfunction on transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), and 25.3% were diagnosed with post-PE impairment (PPEI) at 6-month follow-up. Furthermore, 15.9% of patients were diagnosed with depression 6 months after an acute PE. The QoL was affected by dyspnea, preexisting pulmonary disease, and PPEI, and a reduced QoL was associated with an increased risk for long-term mortality after an observation period of 3.6 years.Conclusions
The German PEmb-QoL questionnaire is a reliable instrument for assessing QoL 6 months after PE. The QoL was affected by dyspnea, preexisting pulmonary disease, and PPEI and was associated with long-term mortality.
SUBMITTER: Keller K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6900046 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Keller Karsten K Tesche Clara C Gerhold-Ay Aslihan A Nickels Stefan S Klok Frederikus A FA Rappold Lisa L Hasenfuß Gerd G Dellas Claudia C Konstantinides Stavros V SV Lankeit Mareike M
Journal of thrombosis and haemostasis : JTH 20190813 11
<h4>Background</h4>While the importance of patients' quality of life (QoL) in chronic cardiac or pulmonary disease is uncontroversial, the burden of an acute pulmonary embolism (PE) on QoL has received little attention thus far.<h4>Objectives</h4>We aimed to validate the German PEmb-QoL questionnaire, identify associations between QoL and clinical/functional parameters, and investigate the prognostic relevance of QoL for long-term survival in survivors of an acute PE episode.<h4>Patients/methods ...[more]