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IntroductionPatient satisfaction becomes more important in our modern health care system. The assessment of satisfaction is difficult because it is a multifactorial item for which no golden standard exists. One of the potential methods of measuring satisfaction is by using the well-known visual analogue scale (VAS). In this study, we validated VAS for satisfaction.Patient and methodsIn this prospective study, we studied 147 patients (153 hips). The construct validity was measured using the Spearman correlation test that compares the satisfaction VAS with the Harris hip score, pain VAS at rest and during activity, Oxford hip score, Short Form 36 and Western Ontario McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index. The reliability was tested using the intra-class coefficient.ResultsThe Pearson correlation test showed correlations in the range of 0.40–0.80. The satisfaction VAS had a high correlation between the pain VAS and Oxford hip score, which could mean that pain is one of the most important factors in patient satisfaction. The intra-class coefficient was 0.95.ConclusionsThere is a moderate to mark degree of correlation between the satisfaction VAS and the currently available subjective and objective scoring systems. The intra-class coefficient of 0.95 indicates an excellent test–retest reliability. The VAS satisfaction is a simple instrument to quantify the satisfaction of a patient after total hip arthroplasty. In this study, we showed that the satisfaction VAS has a good validity and reliability.

BACKGROUND. Epithelioid sarcoma is a rare soft tissue sarcoma with a known high propensity for locoregional recurrence and distant metastases. The clinical behavior and prognostic factors that influence the survival of patients with epithelioid sarcoma were studied. METHODS. Twenty‐three patients, including 16 men (70%) and 7 women (30%), who were treated for epithelioid sarcoma between 1979–2003 at the University Medical Center Groningen and Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, were reviewed retrospectively. The median age at diagnosis was 22 years (range, 1–54 years). At the time of diagnosis, 11 patients (48%) had metastases. Six patients with distant metastasis and 1 patient with an unresectable tumor received palliative treatment (30%). The remaining 16 patients underwent surgical treatment of local disease (11 patients) or locoregional disease (5 patients). Five patients in that group received isolated limb perfusion with tumor necrosis factor and melphalan. RESULTS. The 5‐year and 10‐year disease‐free survival rates for all patients were 34% and 17%, respectively; for the 16 patients who received curative treatment, both rates were 56%. In the latter group, 8 patients developed local recurrence (50%) after a median follow‐up of 4 months (range, 1–14 months). Nine patients were disease free after a median follow‐up of 50 months (range, 6–290 months). Tumor size >5 cm (P < .0026) at diagnosis and local recurrence (P<.0008) were significant predictors of survival. CONCLUSIONS. The prognosis for patients with epithelioid sarcoma is poor, because a substantial number of patients present with extensive disease, lymph node metastases, and/or distant metastases. Treatment consists of radical surgical excision of the tumor and, if indicated, therapeutic lymph node dissection. In patients who have large tumors, isolated limb perfusion may be useful. Cancer 2006. © 2006 American Cancer Society.

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