There was no consistent relationship with factors such as disease-specific or generic instrument or the number of response options .
Negative changes were not associated with larger ESs .
Population -based estimation procedures and brief follow-up were associated with smaller ESs , and acute conditions with larger ESs .
Background .
A number of studies have computed the minimally important difference ( MID ) for health-related quality of life instruments .
To determine whether there is consistency in the magnitude of MID estimates from different instruments .
Quality of life and hospital re-admission in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
BACKGROUND There is some evidence that quality of life ( QOL ) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD ) may predict clinical outcomes and use of re sources . This study examined whether QOL scores could prospect ively predict re-admission for COPD or death within 12 months of an original admission , and whether QOL scores predicted home nebuliser provision . METHODS The study was carried out in all acute medical wards of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary , Woodend and City Hospitals , Aberdeen over 12 months . A total of 377 patients admitted with an exacerbation of COPD were identified in this time , 111 of whom were not included in the study because they refused the interview or died before discharge . The remaining 266 patients completed the St George 's Respiratory Question naire ( SGRQ ) . Information on spirometric parameters , nebuliser provision at discharge , provision of domiciliary oxygen , and re-admission within 12 months was collected from patient notes . RESULTS The mean age of the patients was 68 years and 53 % were men . The mean ( SD ) forced expiratory volume in one second ( FEV1 ) was 38.8 (18.0)% predicted and forced vital capacity ( FVC ) was 58.9 (23.8)% predicted . Higher ( worse ) scores on the SGRQ were significantly related to re-admission for COPD in the next 12 months ( difference = 4.8 , 95 % CI 1.6 to 8.0 ) . Patients who were re-admitted and died from COPD did not differ in SGRQ scores from those who were re-admitted and survived for more than 12 months . Re-admission was not related to sex , age , or pulmonary function . One hundred and thirty eight patients did not have a home nebuliser before admission . Of these , 14 were provided with a home nebuliser at discharge . Patients provided with nebulisers had significantly worse SGRQ scores and worse FVC . The 41 patients given domiciliary oxygen did not differ in SGRQ or spirometric parameters . Logistic regression analysis of the three SGRQ subscales ( Symptom , Impact and Activity ) , adjusting for lung function , age and sex , showed that all three subscales were significantly related to hospital readmission and that Impact scores were related to nebuliser provision . Women did not differ from men in Symptom scores on the SGRQ but differed markedly on the Activity and Impact scales . CONCLUSIONS It is concluded that poor scores on the SGRQ , a QOL scale which measures patient distress and coping , are associated with re-admission for COPD and use of re sources such as nebulisers , independent of physiological measures of disease severity
There was no consistent relationship with factors such as disease-specific or generic instrument or the number of response options .
Negative changes were not associated with larger ESs .
Population -based estimation procedures and brief follow-up were associated with smaller ESs , and acute conditions with larger ESs .
Background .
A number of studies have computed the minimally important difference ( MID ) for health-related quality of life instruments .
To determine whether there is consistency in the magnitude of MID estimates from different instruments .