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VA AND UCLA DEVELOP TOOL TO GAUGE QUALITY OF
LIFE
OF HEPATITIS B PATIENTS -- "We hope that this
quick
questionnaire can become a 'vital sign' taken
in the
doctor's office to help see how the patient is
doing."
Story here...
http://www.eurekalert.
org/pub_releases/2007-0
7/uoc--udt071007.php
Story below:
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UCLA/VA develops tool to gauge quality of life
of hepatitis B patients
Am I going to die? I have no future. I feel depressed at times, fearful
I may not see my children marry or be a grandparent. Such heart-rending
statements from patients with chronic hepatitis B reveal the social and
mental impact of this disease, which affects 350 million worldwide.
In a new study, UCLA researchers measured the effect of hepatitis B on
patients' quality of life beyond just the physical symptoms of the
disease and created a new tool to better assess patients overall
well-being, which may help clinicians guide treatment. The study appears
in the July issue of the journal Hepatology.
"Our results revealed that to effectively treat hepatitis B patients,
clinicians need to consider the social and psychological impact of the
disease, as well as biological functioning," said Dr. Brennan M.R.
Spiegel, principal investigator and assistant professor of medicine at
the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Veterans Affairs
Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System.
Hepatitis B is caused by a viral infection that can damage the liver and
lead to chronic disease. It is contracted most often through contact
with infected blood or bodily fluids.
According to Spiegel, little research had been done previously on
quality-of-life issues for the majority of hepatitis B patients --those
who do not have advanced liver disease or, even rarer, end-stage
complications.
In developing the first-of-its-kind assessment tool for patients,
researchers reviewed existing literature, conducted a focus group with
health experts and interviewed hepatitis patients. They then took the
information and developed a patient questionnaire that clinicians could
use to measure patients� quality of life.
"We were shocked to find that for many hepatitis B patients without
advanced liver disease, the psychosocial impact of the disease affected
their lives more than the physical symptoms," said Spiegel, who is also
director of the UCLA/VA Center for Outcomes Research and Education. "No
one had ever documented this before."
The questionnaire measures quality of life on several levels, including
psychological well-being, anxiety, vitality, disease stigma,
vulnerability and transmissibility.
"We hope that this quick questionnaire can become a 'vital sign' taken
in the doctor's office to help see how the patient is doing," added
Spiegel.
Spiegel notes that the questionnaire could also be used in clinical
trials to help measure outcomes and also to equip patients with
knowledge to help them better select between competing disease
management strategies.
###
The study was funded by the pharmaceutical company Novartis. Spiegel is
a consultant for Novartis and has received research support form the
company.
Other study authors from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
include Roger Bolus, Ph.D., Dr. Eric Esrailian and Jennifer Talley, also
of the UCLA/VA Center for Outcomes Research and Education; Dr. Steven
Han, also of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System; Dr. Myron
Tong; and Dr. Francisco Durazo.
Other authors include Dr. Tram Tran, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Jason
Smith, Pharm.D., VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System; Dr. Hetal A.
Karsan, Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates and Emory University School
of Medicine; Dr. Bruce Bacon, Center for Liver Diseases at Inova Faifax
Hospital in Virginia; Dr. Paul Martin, Emory University School of
Medicine; Dr. Zobair Younossi, Center for Liver Diseases at Inova
Fairfax Hospital; Siew Hwa-Ong, Novartis Pharma AG in Basel,
Switzerland; and Dr. Fasiha Kanwal, St. Louis University.
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Larry Scott --
