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- Andersson, Peter, et al.
(author)
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Low symptomatic load in Crohn's disease with surgery and medicine as complementary treatments
- 1998
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology. - : Informa Healthcare. - 0036-5521 .- 1502-7708. ; 33:4, s. 423-429
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The treatment of Crohn's disease has changed owing to the recognition of its chronicity. Medical maintenance treatment and limited resections have evolved as major concepts of management, regarded as complementary, and both aim at reducing the symptoms.Methods: We investigated the symptomatic load in Crohn's disease as reflected in a cross-sectional study of the symptom index, physicians' assessment, and the patients' perception of health. A cohort of 212 patients from the primary catchment area and 125 referred patients were studied.Results: Of catchment area patients, 83% were receiving medication, and the annual rate of abdominal surgery was 5.7%. Corresponding figures for the referred patients were 82% and 10.3%. According to the symptom index, 87% of catchment area patients were in remission or had only mild symptoms; according to the physicians' assessment, 90% were. The patients' median perception of health was 90% of perfect health according to the visual analogue scale. The figures were similar for referred patients, except that referrals were considered more diseased by the physician.Conclusion: The great majority of patients with Crohn's disease are able to live in remission or experience only mild symptoms.
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| 3. |
- Hjortswang, Henrik, et al.
(author)
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Evaluation of the RFIPC, a disease-specific health-related quality of life questionnaire, in Swedish patients with ulcerative colitis
- 1997
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0036-5521 .- 1502-7708. ; 32:12, s. 1235-1240
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: We wanted to characterize a Swedish version of the Rating Form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patient Concerns (RFIPC) with regard to validity, reliability, and responsiveness.Methods: Two hundred and three consecutive patients with ulcerative colitis were studied. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was measured with the disease-specific questionnaire, the RFIPC, and a general questionnaire, the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP). Concerns about general well-being were also reported. Disease activity was measured by means of symptom cards, laboratory tests, and two clinical indices for disease activity.Results: Test-retest reliability using Spearman's r (rs) was 0.79, and internal consistency measured with Cronbach's alpha was 0.95. RFIPC had a fair correlation with concerns about general well-being (rs = 0.69, P < 0.001). There was also a stronger correlation with another measure of HRQOL, the overall SIP score (rs = 0.43), than with measures of disease activity such as stool frequency (rs = 0.28) and sigmoidoscopic grading (NS). The group of patients in relapse had a higher RFIPC sum score than patients in remission (P = 0.001). Measures of HRQOL had a low correlation with disease activity and did not respond to changes in disease activity.Conclusion: The Swedish version of the RFIPC is a valid and reliable measure of HRQOL. The SIP and the RFIPC have a good discriminative ability between groups of patients in remission and in relapse. However, they do not seem to be useful in predicting the disease activity or change in disease activity over time in the individual patient.
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| 4. |
- Hjortswang, Henrik, et al.
(author)
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Health-related quality of life in Swedish patients with ulcerative colitis
- 1998
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In: American Journal of Gastroenterology. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0002-9270 .- 1572-0241. ; 9,:00, s. 2203-2211
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a Swedish population of patients with ulcerative colitis.Methods: A total of 211 patients with ulcerative colitis were studied. Demographic and disease-related factors were noted. HRQOL was measured by one disease specific questionnaire, the Rating Form of IBD Patient Concerns (RFIPC) and one generic, The Sickness Impact Profile (SIP). Additional questions regarding information needs, medication, and well-being were asked. Disease activity was measured by symptom cards, laboratory samples, endoscopy, and two indices of disease activity. The influence of additional concomitant disease was also evaluated.Results: Functional impairment as measured by the SIP was primarily in psychological and social areas and to a lesser extent in the physical areas. The highest scores for individual items of the RFIPC were those related to potential complications, e.g., needing an ostomy appliance, needing surgery, developing cancer, losing bowel control, and uncertainty about the disease and effects of medication. Patients with active disease scored higher on both SIP and RFIPC when compared to patients in remission. Presence of coexisting disease weighted heavily on HRQOL.Conclusion: Ulcerative colitis has a negative influence on the subjective functional status and seems to cause many worries and concerns. Patients in relapse had greater concerns, more impairment of functional status, and a reduced subjective sense of well-being than patients in clinical remission. Nevertheless, the patients in this Swedish study scored a much better HRQOL than has previously been reported using these questionnaires in patients with ulcerative colitis from the US, France, and Austria.
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| 5. |
- Hjortswang, Henrik, 1966-, et al.
(author)
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The network : a strategy to describe the relationship between quality of life and disease activity. The case of inflammatory bowel disease
- 1999
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In: European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepathology. - 0954-691X .- 1473-5687. ; 11:10, s. 1099-1104
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE:Health is a complex and multi-dimensional entity and is neither easily determined nor easily conveyed to others. Publications have often combined various variables of disease activity and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), used the variables interchangeably or utilized summation indices to compare health assessment. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between measurements of disease activity and HRQoL.STUDY:design Cross-sectional evaluation of disease activity and HRQoL.STUDY POPULATION:Two hundred and eleven consecutive patients with ulcerative colitis.SETTING:The catchment area of Linköping University Hospital.MEASUREMENTS:HRQoL was measured using two questionnaires, the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) and the Rating Form of IBD Patient Concerns (RFIPC). Patients were also asked if they were 'feeling fit and well', as a measurement of general health perception. Disease activity was measured by means of symptom cards, laboratory tests and sigmoidoscopy.RESULTS:The correlations (Spearman's r (r5)) between variables of disease activity and HRQoL were low. 'Feeling fit and well' was best correlated to worries and concerns (the RFIPC, rs 0.32, P < 0.05), while there was a decreasing association with subjective functional status (the SIP, rs 0.31, P < 0.05), symptoms (stools per day, rs 0.15, not significant) and biological variables (endoscopy score, rs 0.04, not significant).CONCLUSION:The correlations between traditional measurements of disease activity and various measures of HRQoL are low. We therefore propose a system whereby the process is conceptualized using a 'network strategy', ordering the measurements of disease activity and HRQoL into five dimensions: biological variables, symptoms, functional status, worries and concerns, and health perceptions. We feel that this method of interpretation more accurately reflects the overall health of a group of patients with IBD than more traditional summation indices.
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