Wedeveloped a linear analogue scale (QOL Scale) to measure the quality of life (QOL) in elderly patients with chronic lung disease. In this study, the validity of the QOLScale was assessed and QOLScale scores were compared with the results of other conventional questionnaires. A total of76 subjects, aged 65 years or older, divided into three groups according to disease severity, were tested by the QOLScale and two additional questionnaires. The QOLScale had the advantages of comprehensibility, acceptability and reproducibility.QOLScale scores differed among the groups, while the other questionnaires showedno significant differences according to disease severity. QOL Scale scores correlated with the tendency toward neurosis shown by another index. Weconclude that the QOLScale is a practical and useful indicator ofQOLin elderly patients with chronic lung disease. (Internal Medicine 32: 832-836, 1993)
In pneumonia in the elderly, one occasionally encounters difficulties in evaluation with respect to both clinical observation and treatment. Thus a simple serum indicator is indicated. We measured secretory leukoprotease inhibitor (SLPI) concentrations in sera to see whether this can provide a useful indicator for pneumonia, especially in the elderly. Serum samples from patients over 65 yr of age, with (n = 54) or without (n = 87) pneumonia, and from healthy, young (n = 16) and aged (n = 188) control subjects were assayed using ELISA for human SLPI. Comparisons were made between groups with clinical diagnoses of either definite or probable pneumonia and among cases with various other respiratory diseases, including bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer. The mean SLPI concentration in patients with pneumonia was significantly higher than in patients without pneumonia or in healthy controls. The data suggest that the measurement of SLPI can provide a useful indicator for pneumonia to be used in clinical evaluation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.