Measuring the quality of life in patients with venous ulcers

Purpose: This prospective study aimed to validate a newly designed specific measure of quality of Life for patients with venous ulcers. Methods: The study was set in a London teaching hospital and surrounding co mmunity clinics. Items for the questionnaire were selected by means of pati ent interviews, a literature review, and expert opinion. The questionnaire and the Short Form 36-item (SF-36) Health Survey were given to a prospectiv e consecutive cohort of 98 patients with proven venous ulcers that were dia gnosed by means of clinical and color duplex examination. Fifty-eight of th e patients were women (60%), and the median age of patients was 76 years. T he questionnaire was assessed for reliability, validity, and responsiveness . Results: The ulcer-specific questionnaire showed good reliability, as asses sed by means of the internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.93) and test-r etest analysis (r = 0.84). Factor analysis identified four important health factors: social function, domestic activities, cosmesis, and emotional sta tus. Validity was demonstrated by means of a high correlation with all eigh t domains of the SF-36 general health measure (r r 0.55, P <.001). Responsi veness was demonstrated by means of a significant reduction in the score on the ulcer questionnaire as ulcers healed at 6 and 11 weeks (P <.05). Conclusion: Good evidence exists that a clinically derived measure for pati ents with venous ulcers has validity to measure the quality of life.