There is no disease-specific instrument available for health status assessment in bronchiectasis. We examined the stability, validity and responsiveness of a measure designed for asthma and COPD, the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), in this condition. One hundred and eleven patients were studied on 2 separate d 6 mo apart. On both days each patient completed the SGRQ and measures of general and disease-specific health, mood, and fatigue. They also performed a shuttle walking test and comprehensive lung function tests. Repeatability was tested over 2 wk in 23 patients. The intraclass correlation (ri) for the SGRQ Total score was 0.97. The SGRQ component scores correlated well with relevant markers of disease activity. Examples include: SGRQ Symptoms score versus MRC Wheeze score, r = 0.634, p < 0.0001; Activity score versus shuttle walking test, r = -0.659, p < 0.0001; and impacts score versus physical fatigue, r = 0.610, p < 0.0001. Changes in the SGRQ Total score from entry to follow-up also correlated with changes in other measures of the patients' health. There were significant differences in the SGRQ total score between patients who improved and those who deteriorated over the 6 mo in respect to wheeze (F = 5.6, p < 0.01) and breathlessness (F = 6.05, p < 0.01). We conclude that the SGRQ reflects impaired health in bronchiectasis patients.

Bronchiectatic patients have impaired health-related quality of life (QoL) and are prone to chronic lower respiratory tract infections. We have investigated whether impaired QoL is related to sputum bacteriology.Eighty seven patients with non-cystic fibrosis (non-CF) bronchiectasis, in a stable phase of their illness, completed three QoL measures, underwent a computed tomography (CT) scan and lung function tests, and provided a fresh sputum sample for microscopy and culture.The QoL of patients colonized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa group) was significantly worse than all other patients grouped together (non-Pa group), and specifically those infected by Haemophilus influenzae (Hi group) or who had no bacterial growth (NG group) (p<0.05), but not those infected by other bacterial species (O group). The Pa group had worse lung function, but no significant differences were found between the groups for forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow rate. The Pa group had significantly worse bronchiectasis scores than the O, NG and non-Pa groups, but not the Hi group. There were no significant differences between the groups with respect to the number of infective exacerbations in the last year, but the Pa group had significantly more hospital admissions. Patients infected by P. aeruginosa for more than 3 yrs had significantly worse FEV1 (p<0.03) and bronchiectasis scores (p<0.05) than those infected with P. aeruginosa for less time, but not significantly worse QoL.We conclude that, overall, patients infected with P. aeruginosa have worse quality of life, and that P. aeruginosa is associated with a greater extent of disease and worse lung function. Although patients infected with H. influenzae had extensive bronchiectasis their quality of life was better than the P. aeruginosa infected group.

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Patients with bronchiectasis have an active local and systemic inflammatory response during infective exacerbations. Systemic markers of inflammation were investigated during a stable phase of their illness, because continued inflammation could affect their general health and be involved in disease progression. The relationship between levels of various systemic markers of inflammation and extent of disease on computed tomographic scan, lung function, sputum bacteriology and health related quality of life (HRQoL) was investigated in 87 noncystic fibrosis bronchiectasis patients. Several markers were elevated and correlated with the extent of disease and poor lung function. The total white cell count, neutrophil count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate correlated with both disease measures. Sputum bacteriology did not correlate with inflammation markers and patients with positive and negative cultures were similar. C-reactive protein and total white cell count correlated with some components of a disease-specific HRQoL questionnaire. In conclusion, patients with bronchiectasis in a stable phase have raised systemic markers of inflammation. Some markers, particularly the neutrophil count, correlate with disease severity. This result is in keeping with the hypothesis that the level of inflammation determines disease progression and health status.

Patients with bronchiectasis often complain of abnormal tiredness, difficulty in concentrating or low spirits. This study was carried out to examine levels of anxiety and depression in bronchiectasis and their relationship with other measures of lung health. One hundred and eleven patients with bronchiectasis determined by high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scan were studied using a range of physiological and psychological outcome measures. Patients completed anxiety and depression, health status (quality of life), fatigue and dypnoea questionnaires. Lung function was measured and exercise capacity was assessed using a shuttle walk test. Anxiety and depression scores formed a continuum. Moderate-severe anxiety was more frequent than equivalent levels of depression (17 vs 9% of patients). Anxiety and depression scores were associated with perceived health status (r=0.33 and 0.55). Neither anxiety nor depression was associated with the extent of bronchiectasis on CT scan. Depression was correlated with breathlessness and exercise performance (r=0.33 and 0.40), but anxiety was not. The correlation between depression and exercise performance was not simply due to the influence of somatic items in the depression questionnaire. We conclude that anxiety and depression are quite common in bronchiectasis in that 34% of patients had elevated scores for anxiety depression or both. The non-somatic components of depression were linked to dyspnoea and exercise performance, but anxiety was only related to perceived health. Therefore, treatment aimed at reducing symptoms and improving exercise capacity will not reduce levels of anxiety which need alternative therapy.

Objective-To examine the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of a new health status measure (LVD-36) for patients with left ventricular dysfunction which was designed with emphasis on content validity, clarity, brevity, and ease of use. Design-At baseline, patients completed the LVD-36 and a range of measures reflecting general health and disease severity. The LVD-36 was repeated after one week. After six months, it was repeated again, along with a transition question to measure global changes in health. Setting-Patients were recruited from the cardiology and general medical clinics at a south west London hospital. Patients-60 patients with chronic left ventricular dysfunction. Interventions-None. Main outcome measures-Short form 36 questionnaire (SF-36), Minnesota living with heart failure questionnaire (LIhFE), New York Heart Association criteria, and exercise performance and echocardiographic tests. Results-The LVD-36 showed good internal consistency ( = 0.95) and repeatability (r i = 0.95). Its scores were significantly associated with SF-36 mental and physical component scores (r = −0.48 and −0.75; p < 0.0001), with exercise capacity (r = −0.52; p < 0.0001), and with systolic shortening fraction (r = −0.27; p < 0.05). Change in the LVD-36 over six months was associated with change in overall health (F = 5.7; p < 0.001). In tests of validity and responsiveness, the LVD-36 performed similarly to or marginally better than the LIhFE. Conclusions-The LVD-36 showed a high level of reliability and validity, and appears to measure changes in health. It provides a short, simple, valid, and reliable measure of health status in patients with left ventricular dysfunction. (Heart 2000;83:634-640) Keywords: health status; quality of life; heart failure; left ventricular dysfunction In patients with chronic diseases, such as congestive cardiac failure, measurement of health status ("quality of life") is becoming an important method of assessing the impact of the disease and the eYcacy of treatment. Three health status questionnaires have been developed for patients with congestive heart failure.1-3 These vary in development process, content, length, and complexity of application.The chronic heart failure questionnaire (CHFQ) 1 was developed by presenting a pool of 123 items to 88 patients, who rated their importance on a five point scale. Item selection was based on frequency and importance ratings to ensure that items were relevant to the population. This method of item selection includes only those items experienced by the majority of the population, and thus may reduce the ability of the questionnaire to detect diVerences in health. In that study, the sample used was not equally balanced in terms of sex (62 male/16 female), and the choice of items is thus more likely to reflect the preferences of male patients and to produce a sex bias within the questionnaire. A section of the CHFQ is individualised, patients being asked to nominate those activities associated with shortness of breath that aVected the...

Due to advances in earlier diagnosis and treatment, the life expectancy of a person born with cystic fibrosis (CF) has increased. Therefore, more people with CF are becoming parents but the psychological understanding of CF has lagged behind advances in medical treatment; there is very limited applied psychological research on which parents and professionals can draw when considering issues of parenting in this context. This qualitative research explored how mothers and fathers with CF experience and manage the dual roles of being a parent and living with CF. The aim was to facilitate development of an understanding of experience rather than test existing theory. A qualitative methodology was chosen as it allowed participants to reflect openly on their individual experiences. Nine participants completed semi-structured interviews either in their own homes or a clinic base which examined parenting, CF and the interaction between the two roles. Four participants were male and five were female with an age range of 21-50. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was used to interpret the participants' accounts and generate super-ordinate and master themes. 'Being a parent on compressed time' was the super-ordinate theme which reflected the challenge of parenting within both a limited life trajectory and a complex treatment regime with daily adherence and time pressures. The findings have implications for parents with CF, those considering parenting and for health professionals working in CF services whose guidance needs to be grounded in an evidence-base. Further research is needed to explore the experiences of parents within different family structures, parents who have had a transplant and the perspectives of others in the wider system in which parents with CF are located.

There is growing awareness that indoor exposure to particulate matter with diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5) is associated with an increased risk of adverse health effects. Cooking is a key indoor source of PM2.5 and an activity conducted daily in most homes. Population scale models can predict occupant exposures to PM2.5, but these predictions are sensitive to the emission rates used. Reported emission rates are highly variable and are typically for the cooking of single ingredients and not full meals. Accordingly, there is a need to assess PM2.5 emissions from the cooking of complete meals. Mean PM2.5 emission rates and source strengths were measured for four complete meals. Temporal PM2.5 concentrations and particle size distributions were recorded using an optical particle counter (OPC), and gravimetric sampling was used to determine calibration factors. Mean emission rates and source strengths varied between 0.54—3.7 mg/min and 15—68 mg, respectively, with 95% confidence. Using a cooker hood (apparent capture efficiency > 90%) and frying in non‐stick pans were found to significantly reduce emissions. OPC calibration factors varied between 1.5 and 5.0 showing that a single value cannot be used for all meals and that gravimetric sampling is necessary when measuring PM2.5 concentrations in kitchens.