Validation of a disease-specific quality-of-life instrument for acoustic neuroma : The Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality-of-Life Scale

✍ Scribed by Brian T. Shaffer; Michael S. Cohen; Douglas C. Bigelow; Michael J. Ruckenstein

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 467 KB
• Volume: 120
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0023-852X
• DOI: 10.1002/lary.20988

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Objectives/Hypothesis:

To design and validate the first disease‐specific quality‐of‐life instrument for acoustic neuroma, the Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality‐of‐Life (PANQOL) scale.

Study Design:

Prospective instrument validation.

Methods:

One hundred forty‐three patients with acoustic neuromas completed the 80‐question preliminary instrument and the general Short Form‐36 Health Survey (SF‐36). A chart review documented patient information. Statistical analysis was performed for item reduction and evaluation of validity criteria.

Results:

Analysis of item‐total and item‐item score correlations eliminated 38 items from the preliminary instrument. Exploratory principal component factor analysis eliminated 16 additional items and identified a natural grouping of remaining items into seven domains, forming the final 26‐item PANQOL scale. Test‐retest reliability and internal consistency measures for the instrument were high. PANQOL domain scores correlated significantly with related SF‐36 domain scores and correlated significantly with related visual analogue scale questions given with the preliminary instrument. PANQOL face domain scores showed significant differences across the House‐Brackmann grading system scores and correlated inversely with tumor size. No domain in either the PANQOL or SF‐36 had a strong correlation with pure‐tone average or speech discrimination scores. The PANQOL scale discriminated acoustic neuroma cases from controls better than the SF‐36.

Conclusions:

We have developed the first validated disease‐specific quality of life instrument for patients with acoustic neuromas. Given the lack of a validated equivalent, this tool has the potential to become a critical outcome measure for studies evaluating treatment of patients with acoustic neuromas. Laryngoscope, 2010