questionnaires – ABC CARDIOL

IJCS

Original Article

Improvement in Semiconductivity On The Measurement Of Blood Pressure After An Educational Intervention In Health Professionals

Cynthia Kallás Bachur et al. Sarah Silva Candido Gerlia Bernardes Silveira Samantha Gurgel Oliveira Sousa … Joao Hercos Neto Eugenia Velludo Veiga

Abstract

Background

Measuring blood pressure is a simple method, but it is subject to errors.

Objective

to evaluate the theoretical and practical knowledge of the steps of blood pressure measurement in health professionals, before and after the educational intervention.

Methods

The theoretical knowledge questionnaire on indirect blood pressure measurement was used to assess theoretical knowledge; to assess practical knowledge, the simulation strategy was applied in a standardized clinical setting and environment. The assessments were reapplied after one month. For data analysis, descriptive statistics were used.

Results

30 health professionals from different categories; 19 of whom were males aged 41 ± 9.4 years and 11 were females aged 35 ± 9.5 years. Improvement was observed in most stages of theoretical and practical knowledge when compared to pre-and post-intervention, with an emphasis on the theoretical stages: “Position of the lower limbs” 2 (6.6%) x 16 (53.3%) and “Forceps with adequate position” 1 (3.3%) x 6 (20%). In the assessment of practical knowledge, it should be highlighted: “Do not speak during the measurement” 6 (20%) x 28 (93.3%) and in the “ideal size clamp” stage 0 (0%) x 5 (16.6 %).

Conclusion

The theoretical and practical knowledge on the stages of BP measurement by health professionals in this sample was insufficient. However, after the educational intervention, there was an improvement in the technique in most stages. (International Journal of Cardiovascular Sciences. 2020; [online].ahead print, PP.0-0)

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Original Article

Reproducibility and Reliability of the Quality of Life Questionnaire in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Rita Simone Lopes Moreira et al. Lucas Bassolli Enia Coutinho Paloma Ferrer … Érika Olivier Bragança Antonio Carlos Camargo Carvalho Angelo Amato de Paola Bráulio Luna Filho

Abstract

Background:

Studies have shown the impact of atrial fibrillation (AF) on the patients’ quality of life. Specific questionnaires enable the evaluation of relevant events. We previously developed a questionnaire to assess the quality of life of patients with AF (AFQLQ version 1), which was reviewed in this study, and new domains were added.

Objective:

To demonstrate the reproducibility of the AFQLQ version 2 (AFQLQ v.2), which included the domains of fatigue, illness perception and well-being.

Methods:

We applied 160 questionnaires (AFQLQ v.2 and SF-36) to 40 patients, at baseline and 15 days after, to measure inter- and intraobserver reproducibility. The analysis of quality of life stability was determined by test-retest, applying the Bartko intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha test.

Results:

The total score of the test-retest (n = 40) had an ICC of 0.98 in the AFQLQ v.2, and of 0.94 in the SF36. In assessing the intra- and interobserver reproducibility of the AFQLQ v.2, the ICC reliability was 0.98 and 0.97, respectively. The internal consistency had a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.82, compatible with good agreement of the AFQLQ v.2.

Conclusion:

The AFQLQ v.2 performed better than its previous version. Similarly, the domains added contributed to make it more comprehensive and robust to assess the quality of life of patients with AF.

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Original Article

Level of Physical Activity and In-Hospital Course of Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Juliana de Goes Jorge et al. Marcos Antonio Almeida Santos José Augusto Soares Barreto Filho Joselina Luzia Menezes Oliveira … Enaldo Vieira de Melo Norma Alves de Oliveira Gustavo Baptista de Almeida Faro Antônio Carlos Sobral Sousa

Abstract

Background:

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the modern world. A sedentary lifestyle, present in 85% of the Brazilian population, is considered a risk factor for the development of coronary artery disease. However, the correlation of a sedentary lifestyle with cardiovascular events (CVE) during hospitalization for ACS is not well established.

Objective:

To evaluate the association between physical activity level, assessed with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), with in-hospital prognosis in patients with ACS.

Methods:

Observational, cross-sectional, and analytical study with 215 subjects with a diagnosis of ACS consecutively admitted to a referral hospital for cardiac patients between July 2009 and February 2011. All volunteers answered the short version of the IPAQ and were observed for the occurrence of CVE during hospitalization with a standardized assessment conducted by the researcher and corroborated by data from medical records.

Results:

The patients were admitted with diagnoses of unstable angina (34.4%), acute myocardial infarction (AMI) without ST elevation (41.4%), and AMI with ST elevation (24.2%). According to the level of physical activity, the patients were classified as non-active (56.3%) and active (43.7%). A CVE occurred in 35.3% of the cohort. The occurrence of in-hospital complications was associated with the length of hospital stay (odds ratio [OR] = 1.15) and physical inactivity (OR = 2.54), and was independent of age, systolic blood pressure, and prior congestive heart failure.

Conclusion:

A physically active lifestyle reduces the risk of CVE during hospitalization in patients with ACS.

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Original Article

Validation of a Brazilian Portuguese Version of the Walking Estimated-Limitation Calculated by History (WELCH)

Gabriel Grizzo Cucato et al. Marilia de Almeida Correia Breno Quintella Farah Glauco Fernandes Saes … Aluísio Henrique de Andrade Lima Raphael Mendes Ritti-Dias Nelson Wolosker

Abstract

Background:

The Walking Estimated-Limitation Calculated by History (WELCH) questionnaire has been proposed to evaluate walking impairment in patients with intermittent claudication (IC), presenting satisfactory psychometric properties. However, a Brazilian Portuguese version of the questionnaire is unavailable, limiting its application in Brazilian patients.

Objective:

To analyze the psychometric properties of a translated Brazilian Portuguese version of the WELCH in Brazilian patients with IC.

Methods:

Eighty-four patients with IC participated in the study. After translation and back-translation, carried out by two independent translators, the concurrent validity of the WELCH was analyzed by correlating the questionnaire scores with the walking capacity assessed with the Gardner treadmill test. To determine the reliability of the WELCH, internal consistency and test–retest reliability with a seven-day interval between the two questionnaire applications were calculated.

Results:

There were significant correlations between the WELCH score and the claudication onset distance (r = 0.64, p = 0.01) and total walking distance (r = 0.61, p = 0.01). The internal consistency was 0.84 and the intraclass correlation coefficient between questionnaire evaluations was 0.84. There were no differences in WELCH scores between the two questionnaire applications.

Conclusion:

The Brazilian Portuguese version of the WELCH presents adequate validity and reliability indicators, which support its application to Brazilian patients with IC.

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Original Article

Post-Acute Coronary Syndrome Alcohol Abuse: Prospective Evaluation in the ERICO Study

Abner Morilha et al. Samuel Karagulian Paulo A. Lotufo Itamar S. Santos … Isabela M. Benseñor Alessandra C. Goulart

Background:

Some studies have indicated alcohol abuse as one of the contributors to the development of cardiovascular disease, particularly coronary heart disease. However, this relationship is controversial.

Objective:

To investigate the relationship between post-acute coronary syndrome (ACS) alcohol abuse in the Acute Coronary Syndrome Registry Strategy (ERICO Study).

Methods:

146 participants from the ERICO Study answered structured questionnaires and underwent laboratory evaluations at baseline, 30 days and 180 days after ACS. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was applied to assess harmful alcohol consumption in the 12 months preceding ACS (30 day-interview) and six months after that.

Results:

The frequencies of alcohol abuse were 24.7% and 21.1% in the 12 months preceding ACS and six months after that, respectively. The most significant cardiovascular risk factors associated with high-risk for alcohol abuse 30 days after the acute event were: male sex (88.9%), current smoking (52.8%) and hypertension (58.3%). Six months after the acute event, the most significant results were replicated in our logistic regression, for the association between alcohol abuse among younger individuals [35-44 year-old multivariate OR: 38.30 (95% CI: 1.44-1012.56) and 45-54 year-old multivariate OR: 10.10 (95% CI: 1.06-96.46)] and for smokers [current smokers multivariate OR: 51.09 (95% CI: 3.49-748.01) and past smokers multivariate OR: 40.29 (95% CI: 2.37-685.93)].

Conclusion:

Individuals younger than 54 years and smokers showed a significant relation with harmful alcohol consumption, regardless of the ACS subtype.

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Original Article

Quality of Life on Arterial Hypertension: Validity of Known Groups of MINICHAL

Ana Lúcia Soares Soutello et al. Roberta Cunha Matheus Rodrigues Fernanda Freire Jannuzzi Thaís Moreira São-João … Gabriela Giordano Martinix Wilson Nadruz Jr. Maria-Cecília Bueno Jayme Gallani

Introductions:

In the care of hypertension, it is important that health professionals possess available tools that allow evaluating the impairment of the health-related quality of life, according to the severity of hypertension and the risk for cardiovascular events. Among the instruments developed for the assessment of health-related quality of life, there is the Mini-Cuestionario of Calidad de Vida en la Hipertensión Arterial (MINICHAL) recently adapted to the Brazilian culture.

Objective:

To estimate the validity of known groups of the Brazilian version of the MINICHAL regarding the classification of risk for cardiovascular events, symptoms, severity of dyspnea and target-organ damage.

Methods:

Data of 200 hypertensive outpatients concerning sociodemographic and clinical information and health-related quality of life were gathered by consulting the medical charts and the application of the Brazilian version of MINICHAL. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare health-related quality of life in relation to symptoms and target-organ damage. The Kruskal-Wallis test and ANOVA with ranks transformation were used to compare health-related quality of life in relation to the classification of risk for cardiovascular events and intensity of dyspnea, respectively.

Results:

The MINICHAL was able to discriminate health-related quality of life in relation to symptoms and kidney damage, but did not discriminate health-related quality of life in relation to the classification of risk for cardiovascular events.

Conclusion:

The Brazilian version of the MINICHAL is a questionnaire capable of discriminating differences on the health‑related quality of life regarding dyspnea, chest pain, palpitation, lipothymy, cephalea and renal damage.

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Artigo Original

Duke Activity Status Index for Cardiovascular Diseases: Validation of the Portuguese Translation

Mariana A. Coutinho-Myrrha et al. Rosângela C. Dias Aline A. Fernandes Christiano G. Araújo … Mark A. Hlatky Danielle G. Pereira Raquel R. Britto

Background:

The Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) assesses the functional capacity of patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), but there is no Portuguese version validated for CVD.

Objectives:

To translate and adapt cross-culturally the DASI for the Portuguese-Brazil language, and to verify its psychometric properties in the assessment of functional capacity of patients with CVD.

Methods:

The DASI was translated into Portuguese, then checked by back-translation into English and evaluated by an expert committee. The pre-test version was first evaluated in 30 subjects. The psychometric properties and correlation with exercise testing was performed in a second group of 67 subjects. An exploratory factor analyses was performed in all 97 subjects to verify the construct validity of the DASI.

Results:

The intraclass correlation coefficient for test-retest reliability was 0.87 and for the inter-rater reliability was 0.84. Cronbach’s α for internal consistency was 0.93. The concurrent validity was verified by significant positive correlations of DASI scores with the VO₂max (r = 0.51, p < 0.001). The factor analysis yielded two factors, which explained 54% of the total variance, with factor 1 accounting for 40% of the variance. Application of the DASI required between one and three and a half minutes per patient.

Conclusions:

The Brazilian version of the DASI appears to be a valid, reliable, fast and easy to administer tool to assess functional capacity among patients with CVD.

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Artigo Original

Construction and Validation of a Questionnaire about Heart Failure Patients' Knowledge of Their Disease

Christiani Decker Batista Bonin et al. Rafaella Zulianello dos Santos Gabriela Lima de Melo Ghisi Ariany Marques Vieira … Ricardo Amboni Magnus Benetti

Background:

The lack of tools to measure heart failure patients’ knowledge about their syndrome when participating in rehabilitation programs demonstrates the need for specific recommendations regarding the amount or content of information required.

Objectives:

To develop and validate a questionnaire to assess heart failure patients’ knowledge about their syndrome when participating in cardiac rehabilitation programs.

Methods:

The tool was developed based on the Coronary Artery Disease Education Questionnaire and applied to 96 patients with heart failure, with a mean age of 60.22 ± 11.6 years, 64% being men. Reproducibility was obtained via the intraclass correlation coefficient, using the test-retest method. Internal consistency was assessed by use of Cronbach’s alpha, and construct validity, by use of exploratory factor analysis.

Results:

The final version of the tool had 19 questions arranged in ten areas of importance for patient education. The proposed questionnaire had a clarity index of 8.94 ± 0.83. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.856, and Cronbach’s alpha, 0.749. Factor analysis revealed five factors associated with the knowledge areas. Comparing the final scores with the characteristics of the population evidenced that low educational level and low income are significantly associated with low levels of knowledge.

Conclusion:

The instrument has satisfactory clarity and validity indices, and can be used to assess the heart failure patients’ knowledge about their syndrome when participating in cardiac rehabilitation programs.

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Artigo Original

Brazilian portuguese validated version of the cardiac anxiety questionnaire

Aline Sardinha et al. Antonio Egidio Nardi Claudio Gil Soares de Araújo Maria Cristina Ferreira Georg H. Eifert

BACKGROUND: Cardiac Anxiety (CA) is the fear of cardiac sensations, characterized by recurrent anxiety symptoms, in patients with or without cardiovascular disease. The Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ) is a tool to assess CA, already adapted but not validated to Portuguese. OBJECTIVE: This paper presents the three phases of the validation studies of the Brazilian CAQ. METHODS: To extract the factor structure and assess the reliability of the CAQ (phase 1), 98 patients with coronary artery disease were recruited. The aim of phase 2 was to explore the convergent and divergent validity. Fifty-six patients completed the CAQ, along with the Body Sensations Questionnaire (BSQ) and the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN). To determine the discriminative validity (phase 3), we compared the CAQ scores of two subgroups formed with patients from phase 1 (n = 98), according to the diagnoses of panic disorder and agoraphobia, obtained with the MINI – Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. RESULTS: A 2-factor solution was the most interpretable (46.4% of the variance). Subscales were named “Fear and Hypervigilance” (n=9; alpha = 0.88), and “Avoidance”, (n = 5; alpha = 0.82). Significant correlation was found between factor 1 and the BSQ total score (p<0.01), but not with factor 2. SPIN factors showed significant correlations with CAQ subscales (p < 0.01). In phase 3, "Cardiac with panic" patients scored significantly higher in CAQ factor 1 (t = -3.42; p < 0.01, CI = -1.02 to -0.27), and higher, but not significantly different, in factor 2 (t = -1.98; p = 0.51, CI = -0.87 to 0.00). CONCLUSIONS: These results provide a definite Brazilian validated version of the CAQ, adequate to clinical and research settings.

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Brief Communication

Validation of the short-version of Rose angina questionnaire in Brazil

Maria-Socorro Bastos et al. Paulo A. Lotufo Aristarcho L. Whitaker Isabela M. Bensenor

BACKGROUND: Stable angina pectoris is a serious condition with few epidemiological studies in Brazil. OBJECTIVE: To validate the short-version of the Rose angina questionnaire in Brazilian Portuguese for its implementation in surveys and longitudinal studies. METHODS: A total of 116 consecutive patients from an outpatient clinic without prior myocardial infarction and/or coronary revascularization were enrolled for application of three questions of the Rose angina questionnaire addressing chest pain after exertion. We used the treadmill test as the gold standard with the Ellestad protocol. RESULTS: The short-version of the Rose angina questionnaire of the 116 subjects submitted to the exercise treadmill test disclosed 89.7% of accuracy, 25% of sensitivity, 92.0% of specificity, 10.0% of positive predictive value, 97.2% of negative predictive value, and 3.1 of positive likelihood ratio and 0.82 of negative likelihood ratio. CONCLUSION: The Portuguese version with three items of the Rose angina questionnaire is suitable for epidemiological purposes.

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Artigo Original

Quality of life of hypertensive patients and comparison of two instruments of HRQOL measure

Michelle Adler Normando Carvalho et al. Isabela Bispo Santos Silva Sarah Brito Pinheiro Ramos Laura Fernandes Coelho … Isabela Dias Gonçalves José Albuquerque de Figueiredo Neto

BACKGROUND: Measuring health-related quality of life (QOL) helps evaluating the efficiency of a treatment and identifies problems with major impact on the patient’s QOL. However, these measures are safer if assessed by generic and specific instruments together, where it is necessary to check for compatibility between these and avoid repetitions and contradictions between the domains. OBJECTIVE: To describe the quality of life of hypertensive patients and to evaluate the compatibility of a specific instrument (MINICHAL) and a generic instrument (SF-36). METHODS: One hundred adult hypertensive under outpatient care were interviewed. The mean HRQOL as measured by MINICHAL was 6.64 (SD 6.04) in mental status and average of 5.03 (SD 4.11) in the state of somatic manifestations. The means for the instrument SF-36 were in ranking order: limitation due to physical aspects 47.3 (SD 42.9), vitality 57.4 (SD 19.7), limitation due to emotional aspects 58 (SD 44.7), functional capacity 58.7 (SD 27.8), pain 60.4 (SD 26.3), general health condition 60.7 (SD 22.7), mental health 66.8 (SD 22.1) and social aspects 78 (SD 26.1). RESULTS: The MINICHAL significantly correlated (p <0.001) with the SF-36 in all domains. CONCLUSION: The MINICHAL proved to be a useful tool in the assessment of HRQOL in patients with hypertension. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2012; [online].ahead print, PP.0-0)

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Artigo Original

Development and validation of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Barriers Scale

Gabriela Lima de Melo Ghisi et al. Rafaella Zulianello dos Santos Vanessa Schveitzer Aline Lange Barros … Thais Lunardi Recchia Paul Oh Magnus Benetti Sherry L. Grace

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases show high incidence and prevalence in Brazil; however, participation in Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) is limited and has been poorly investigated in the country. The Cardiac Rehabilitation Barriers Scale (CRBS) was developed to assess the barriers to participation and adherence to CR. OBJECTIVE: To translate, cross-culturally adapt and psychometrically validate CRBS to Brazilian Portuguese. METHODS: Two independent initial translations were performed. After the reverse translation, both versions were reviewed by a committee. The new version was tested in 173 patients with coronary artery disease (48 women, mean age = 63 years). Of these, 139 (80.3%) participated in CR. Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha, test-retest reliability by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and construct validity by factor analysis. T-tests were used to assess criterion validity between participants and non-participants in CR. The applied test results were evaluated regarding patient characteristics (gender, age, health status and educational level). RESULTS: The Brazilian Portuguese version of the CRBS had Cronbach’s alpha of 0.88, ICC of 0.68 and disclosed five factors, most of which showed to be internally consistent and all were defined by the items. The mean score for patients in CR was 1.29 (SD = 0.27) and 2.36 for ambulatory patients (SD = 0.50) (p <0.001). Criterion validity was also supported by significant differences in total scores by gender, age and educational level. CONCLUSION: The Brazilian Portuguese version of CRBS has shown adequate validity and reliability, which supports its use in future studies.

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Artigo Original

Cross-cultural adaptation into Brazilian portuguese of the Dietary Sodium Restriction Questionnaire (DSRQ)

Karina Sanches Machado d'Almeida et al. Gabriela Correa Souza Eneida Rejane Rabelo

BACKGROUND: Sodium restriction is a non-pharmacological measure often recommended to patients with heart failure (HF). However, adherence is low, being among the most common causes of HF decompensation. The Dietary Sodium Restriction Questionnaire (DSRQ) aims at identifying factors that affect adherence to dietary sodium restriction by patients with HF. In Brazil, there are no instruments to assess these factors. OBJECTIVE: Perform the transcultural adaptation of DSRQ. METHODS: Methodological study that involved the following steps: translation, synthesis, back-translation, review by an expert committee, pretest of the final version and analysis of interobserver agreement. In the pretest, items and their understanding were evaluated, as well as internal consistency by Cronbach’s alpha. The instrument was simultaneously and independently administered by two researchers and the kappa test was used for agreement analysis. RESULTS: Only one question underwent major semantic and/or cultural alteration. At the pretest, Cronbach’s alpha for the total obtained was 0.77; for the Attitude, Subjective Norm and Behavioral Control scales were obtained, respectively: 0.66, 0.50 and 0.85. At the agreement step, the Kappa was calculated for 12 of the 16 questions, with values ranging from 0.62 to 1.00. In items for which the calculation was not possible, the incidence of equal responses ranged from 95% to 97.5%. CONCLUSION: Based on the transcultural adaptation of DSRQ, it was possible to propose a version of the questionnaire for further evaluation of psychometric properties.

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Artigo Original

Quality of life of patients that had a heart transplant: application of Whoqol-Bref scale

Maria Isis Freire de Aguiar et al. Deisiana Rios Farias Mabel Leite Pinheiro Emília Soares Chaves … Isaura Letícia Tavares Palmeira Rolim Paulo César de Almeida

BACKGROUND: The success of cardiac transplantation involves ensuring the survival of patients with heart disease and allowing them to carry out their daily activities. Heart transplant is the first option of treatment for heart failure and it represents an increase in the survival rate and quality of life of transplant patients. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality of life of patients that had a heart transplant by using a standardized scale (Whoqol-Bref). METHODS: A quantitative descriptive exploratory study, conducted with 55 patients that had a heart transplant, in a period ranging between the third and 103rd months, who were monitored at the Transplant and Heart Failure Unit in a benchmark cardiology hospital in the city of Fortaleza, State of Ceará. The data were collected from February 2009 to April 2009, by administering a WHO-standardized questionnaire and by using data contained in medical records. RESULTS: With respect to the physical domain, 62.8% of male patients and 58.3% of female patients are satisfied. In the psychological domain, 65.1% of males are satisfied with the quality of life and, 58.3% of females are satisfied. In terms of social relations, it was observed that 53.5% of males are very satisfied and 100% of females are satisfied. With regard to the environment, 65.1% of male patients and 83.3% of female patients are satisfied. CONCLUSION: The heart transplant had a lot of influence on the quality of life of transplant patients, because the results have proven to be statistically significant after the transplant.

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Artigo Original

Suspicion of Obstructive Sleep Apnea by Berlin Questionnaire predicts events in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Eryca Vanessa S. de Jesus et al. Euvaldo B. Dias-Filho Bethania de M. Mota Luiz de Souza … Celi Marques-Santos João Bosco G. Rocha Joselina L. M. Oliveira Antônio C. S. Sousa José Augusto Barreto-Filho

BACKGROUND: From a mechanistic standpoint, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may further disturb cardiovascular homeostasis in the setting of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate if a standardized clinical diagnosis of OSA, in acute coronary syndrome patients, predicts the risk of cardiovascular events during hospitalization. METHODS: In a prospective cohort study, a group of 200 patients diagnosed with ACS between September 2005 and November 2007 were stratified by the Berlin Questionnaire (BQ) regarding the risk for OSA (high or low risk). We tested if the subgroup of high risk for OSA was prone to a higher frequency of cardiovascular events. The primary endpoint evaluated was a composite outcome of cardiovascular death, recurrent cardiac ischemic events, acute pulmonary edema and stroke during hospitalization. RESULTS: Ninety four (47%) patients assessed by the BQ were likely to have OSA. High risk for OSA was associated with a non-significant higher mortality (4.25% vs 0.94%; p=0.189), but a significant higher incidence of composite cardiovascular events (18.08% vs 6.6%; p=0.016). In the logistic regression model, multivariate predictors of composite cardiovascular events were age (OR= 1.048; 95% CI 1.008 to 1.090; p=0.019), left ventricular ejection fraction (OR= 0.954; 95% CI 0.920 to 0.989; p=0.010), and higher risk for OSA (OR= 3.657; 95% CI 1.216 to 10.996; p=0.021). CONCLUSION: The use of a simple and validated questionnaire (BQ) to identify patients with higher risk for OSA may help in the prediction of cardiovascular outcome during hospitalization. Moreover, our data suggests that OSA is very common in patients with ACS.

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Artigo Original

Construction and validation of the CADE-Q for patient education in cardiac rehabilitation programs

Gabriela Lima de Melo Ghisi et al. Adriana Durieux Waldomiro Carlos Manfroi Artur Haddad Herdy … Tales de Carvalho Alexandre Andrade Magnus Benetti

BACKGROUND: Being aware of the coronary artery disease can be considered the first step to reduce the risk of cardiac complications. OBJECTIVE: Building and validating a tool to assess and describe coronary patients’ awareness in cardiac rehabilitation programs, with the purpose of education. METHODS: For the construction, we analyzed articles and field studies to submit items to multidisciplinary team associated to cardiac rehabilitation. After this analysis, we generated the version tested in a pilot study. The tool, named CADE-Q (Questionnaire for Coronary Patient Education) was applied in 155 patients aged 61 ± 9 (min = 36, max = 86) in response to cardiac rehabilitation programs. Out of the 155 patients, 114 were men. Internal consistency was measured by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Reproducibility was tested by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and construct validity was performed by exploratory factor analysis. The analysis compared the total scores as a function population characteristics and rehabilitation groups (private and public). RESULTS: The final version has 19 questions with 4 alternatives, with 4 quadrants of awareness. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.68 and ICC was 0.783. The factor analysis revealed 6 factors, covering three areas of awareness, which demonstrates the multifactorial nature of the instrument. The population characteristics as a function of the total score showed significant differences depending on the socioeconomic status variables (type of rehabilitation, household income and education level). CONCLUSION: CADE-Q has proper validity and reliability to be used in the Brazilian population in future research.

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Artigo Original

Quality of life in hypertensive patients and concurrent validity of Minichal-Brazil

Ana Carolina Melchiors et al. Cassyano Januário Correr Roberto Pontarolo Felipe de Oliveira de Souza Santos Rodrigo Augusto de Paula e Souza

BACKGROUND: Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaires (HRQOL) are humanistic outcome measure instruments both in clinical and in pharmacoeconomic studies. However, they should have their psychometric parameters evaluated so as to reflect the individual subjective assessment of quality of life. OBJECTIVES: To describe the quality of life profile of hypertensive patients and to assess the concurrent validity of the Minichal-Brazil instrument by comparing it to the generic World Health Organization’s (WHO) assessment instrument known as WHOQOL-Bref. METHODS: A total of 191 adult patients (72.8% females) with hypertension were interviewed. Approximately one third of these patients had their hypertension controlled. The mean HRQOL as measured by the total Minichal score was 69.7 (SD = 19.2; 95%CI from 66.9 to 72.4); the “mental status” domain and “somatic manifestations” domain scores were 69.1 (95%CI from 66.1 to 72.2), and 69.9 (95%CI from 66.5 to 73.2), respectively. The means for the WHOQOL-Bref instrument were: in the “physical” domain = 61.5 (95%CI from 59.0 to 64.1); in the “psychological” domain = 65.7 (95%CI from 63.2 to 68.2); in the “social” domain = 72.3 (95%CI from 70.0 to 74.5); and in the “environment” domain = 59.7 (95%CI from 57.7 to 61.7). RESULTS: Minichal significantly correlated (p<0.001) with WHOQOL-Bref as regards all its domains, except for the "environment" domain, which did not correlate with the "somatic manifestations" domain. CONCLUSION: Minichal-Brazil proved to be a useful tool in the assessment of HRQOL in hypertensive patients.

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Artigo Original

Validation into portuguese of the Maugerl CaRdiac preventiOn-Questionnaire (MICRO-Q)

Gabriela Lima de Melo Ghisi et al. Claudia Medeiros Leite Adriana Durieux Isabel de Castro Schenkel … Maíra S. de Assumpção Melina Medeiros de Barros Daniel Taiva Alexandro Andrade Magnus Benetti

BACKGROUND: The Maugerl CaRdiac preventiOn-Questionnaire (MICRO-Q) is a validated specific tool used to assess the knowledge of the patient with coronary disease on aspects related to the secondary prevention of coronary artery disease (CAD). OBJECTIVE: To translate, adapt and validate the MICRO-Q to Brazilian Portuguese. METHODS: Two initial independent translations were carried out into Brazilian Portuguese. After their comparison, the reverse translation was carried out, which was reviewed by a committee and generated the final version that was tested in a pilot study. The tool was applied to 212 coronary patients, with a mean age of 60 to 71 years (standard deviation = 9.4; range: 35-86) that participated in cardiac rehabilitation programs. The internal consistency was verified by Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient, correlation through Spearman’s Rho and the validity of the construct was verified through exploratory factorial analysis. The means were analyzed by comparing the scales of the correct questions in relation to variables such as age, sex, associate comorbidities, degree of schooling, family income, among others. RESULTS: The Brazilian version of the MICRO-Q has 25 questions. The reliability of this version presented a Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient of 0.64 and a Spearman’s Rho of the correct answers of 0.65. The factorial analysis showed 6 factors related to the domains of knowledge of the questionnaire. The analysis of the population characteristics regarding the scales of the correct questions presented significant differences only in relation to monthly family income and degree of schooling. CONCLUSION: The approved Brazilian version of the MICRO-Q presents adequate validity and reliability for its use in future studies.

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Artigo Original

Validation of the Portuguese version of the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire

Vitor Oliveira Carvalho et al. Guilherme Veiga Guimarães Dirceu Carrara Fernando Bacal Edimar Alcides Bocchi

BACKGROUND: The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) is an important measurement instrument for assessing the quality of life of heart failure patients. Despite being largely used within our context, the questionnaire had not yet been translated and validated into the Portuguese language. OBJECTIVE: Of this study was to translate and validate the Portuguese version of the MLHFQ for use in heart failure patients. METHODS: Forty patients with heart failure (30 men, LVEF 30±6%, 55% ischemic etiology, classified as NYHA I to III), clinically stable and on optimized drug therapy underwent maximal cardiopulmonary stress testing to assess their physical capacity. Right after the test, the MLHFQ duly translated into Portuguese was administered by the same investigator. The NYHA functional classification was provided by the medical team. RESULTS: The Portuguese version of the MLHFQ had the same structure and metrics of the original version. There was no difficulty in the administration of the questionnaire or in the patient’s understanding of the questions. The Portuguese version of the MLHFQ was consistent with peak VO2, duration of the cardiopulmonary test, and NYHA functional classification. There was no difference in the score mean for the questionnaire between the group of patients with ischemic etiology and the group with non-ischemic etiology. CONCLUSION: The Portuguese version of the MLHFQ proposed in this study proved to be valid for heart failure patients, and constitutes a new and important instrument for assessing quality of life.

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Artigo Original

Brazilian version of a lifestyle questionnaire: translation and validation for young adults

Ciro Romélio Rodriguez Añez et al. Rodrigo Siqueira Reis Edio Luiz Petroski

BACKGROUND: Inappropriate lifestyles have been responsible for the leading causes of mortality. The purpose of the Fantastic Lifestyle Questionnaire is to help physicians involved in health prevention to identify and assess their patients’ lifestyles. OBJECTIVE: To translate and validate the Fantastic Lifestyle Questionnaire for use with young adults. METHODS: The process of translation into Portuguese and validation consisted of four steps: 1) translation; 2) correction and semantic adaptation by professional experts (judges); 3) content validation; and 4) a final evaluation by the target population. The statistical analyses used were Cronbach’s alpha to measure internal consistency reliability, intra-class correlation coefficient (R) for external consistency, and the Kappa index to test construct validity. RESULTS: Cronbach’s alpha coefficient measured the correlation between items and the total was 0.69, which is considered reasonable for an instrument designed to evaluate a latent variable that can only be estimated and not measured. When the items were grouped into domains, it was possible to verify that they all contributed equally to the stability of the questionnaire (α=0.60). The external consistency evaluated by intra-class correlation was R=0.92 (p=0.2), which demonstrates a high degree of reproducibility; the construct validity of 4 and 3 categories was 75 and 80.7% with Kappa indices of 0.58 and 0.7, respectively, which show an excellent discriminatory classificatory capacity. CONCLUSION: The Fantastic Lifestyle Questionnaire has an adequate internal and external consistency for evaluating young adult lifestyles, and it can be recommended for primary care and epidemiological studies.

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Artigo Original

Validation of the short form of the spanish hypertension quality of life questionnaire (MINICHAL) for portuguese (Brazil)

Renata Berberi Schulz et al. Paula Rossignoli Cassyano J. Correr Fernando Fernández-Llimós Plínio Marco de Toni

BACKGRAOUND: The assessment of quality of life has been considered an essential parameter in understanding the impact of arterial hypertension. OBJECTIVE: To translate into portuguese, cross-culturally adapt and validate the questionnaire specific for the assessment of quality of life known as “Mini Cuestionario de Calidad de Vida en Hipertensión Arterial” (MINICHAL). METHODS: Two independent translations of MINICHAL were made into brazilian portuguese. Later, these two translations were harmonized yielding a version that was back-translated into the source language. This version was revised by a committee of judges and the new version was tested in a pilot study. After the cross-cultural adaptation, the final version of the instrument was administered to a sample of 300 patients. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire such as reliability and construct validity were analyzed. The internal consistency of the instrument was measured by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. RESULTS: In the brazilian version of MINICHAL, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of internal consistency reliability were 0.88 for the Mental Status domain and 0.85 for the Somatic Manifestations domain. As to content validity, the judges’ assessment attained a high level of agreement (75.44%). The factor analysis confirmed both domains, with differences in one item which was included in factor 2. The control group presented significant differences relative to hypertensive patients (t=4.86, gl=276.8, p< 0.001). CONCLUSION: The brazilian version of MINICHAL was successfully validated and represents a useful and reliable instrument for assessing the quality of life of brazilian hypertensive patients.

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Artigo Original

Quality of life of hypertensive patients treated at an outpatient clinic

Margaret Assad Cavalcante et al. Maria Teresa Nogueira Bombig Braulio Luna Filho Antonio Carlos de Camargo Carvalho … Angelo A. V. de Paola Rui Póvoa

BACKGROUND: The main cause of mortality in braziliam population is the cardiovascular disease and arterial hypertension (AH) the most prevalent one. The antihypertensive treatment is effective however it is not well known how affects the quality of life (QOL) in patients afterwards. OBJECTIVE: To comparatively assess the QOL in patients submitted to an antihypertensive treatment. METHODS: One-hundred patients with AH were studied of which 46 had complied with a standard treatment regimen (group A) and 54 (group B control) were about to start the same regimen. We collected clinical and sociodemographic data and questions focusing sexuality, self-perception of QOL, number and types of medication taken and their influence on sex life. The questionnaire SF-36 was also administered. The data were analyzed using the tests chi-square, Student’s t, Pearson correlation and Tukey. RESULTS: No differences were detected between group A and B in any of the SF-36 domains. There was an association between the question on self-perception of QOL and the SF-36 domains, emotional aspects excepted. As regards sexuality, there was difference in the quality of sex life between the groups, which was less satisfactory for group A. CONCLUSION: When the SF-36 was administered no changes in QOL were detected between the groups because it is an asymptomatic chronic disease. The SF-36 did not properly assess emotional aspects in our case series of hypertensive patients that had high behavior variability. Group A showed lower quality sex life; however, this was not related to the number and type of medication used.

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Original Article

Reliability of the information about the history of diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. Differences in regard to sex, age, and educational level. The pró-saúde study

Eduardo Faerstein et al. Dóra Chor Claudia de S. Lopes

OBJECTIVE: To assess the intraobserver reliability of the information about the history of diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. METHODS: A multidimensional health questionnaire, which was filled out by the interviewees, was applied twice with an interval of 2 weeks, in July ’99, to 192 employees of the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), stratified by sex, age, and educational level. The intraobserver reliability of the answers provided was estimated by the kappa statistic and by the coefficient of intraclass correlation (CICC). RESULTS: The general kappa (k) statistic was 0.75 (95% CI=0.73-0.77). Reliability was higher among females (k=0.88, 95% CI=0.85-0.91) than among males (k=0.62, 95% CI=0.59-0.65).The reliability was higher among individuals 40 years of age or older (k=0.79; 95% CI=0.73-0.84) than those from 18 to 39 years (k=0.52; 95% CI=0.45-0.57). Finally, the kappa statistic was higher among individuals with a university educational level (k=0.86; 95% CI=0.81-0.91) than among those with high school educational level (k=0.61; 95% CI=0.53-0.70) or those with middle school educational level (k=0.68; 95% CI=0.64-0.72). The coefficient of intraclass correlation estimated by the intraobserver agreement in regard to age at the time of the diagnosis of hypertension was 0.74. A perfect agreement between the 2 answers (k=1.00) was observed for 22 interviewees who reported prior prescription of antihypertensive medication. CONCLUSION: In the population studied, estimates of the reliability of the history of medical diagnosis of hypertension and its treatment ranged from substantial to almost perfect reliability.

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