Validação no Brasil de Questionário de Qualidade de Vida na Doença Venosa Crônica (Questionário Aberdeen para Veias Varicosas no Brasil/AVVQ-Brasil)

Translation and adaptation to Spanish of Aberdeen varicose veins questionnaire

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the study is to translate the Aberdeen Varicose Vein Questionnaire (AVVQ) into Spanish and evaluate the feasibility and reliability of the Spanish-translated AVVQ in patients with chronic venous disease.

METHODS

Reliability was assessed by test and retest of the Spanish translated AVVQ in a sample of 77 patients. The questionnaires were answered within a 2-week interval.

RESULTS

There was a 100% test and retest response. The AVVQ showed 6.5% of missing responses. Cronbach's alpha was 0.71 indicating an adequate level of internal consistency. Spearman's rho showed a significant strong association between test and retest scores (rho = 0.84, p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

The Spanish-translated AVVQ is a reliable tool in our daily clinical practice in order to measure the impact of venous disease in the quality of life.

Reliability and validity of specific quality of life assessment questionnaires related to chronic venous insufficiency: a systematic review

This systematic review aimed to discuss the main findings regarding the reliability and validity of health-related quality of life questionnaires for chronic venous insufficiency. Searches were performed on the MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, LILACS, and Scopus databases. The search terms used were related to "venous insufficiency", and "quality of life". The CIVIQ-20 and CIVIQ-14 instruments had adequate internal consistency and both were able to discriminate disease severity. The VEINES-QoL showed adequate internal consistency but was not able to discriminate disease severity. Most studies did not demonstrate a correlation between VEINES-QoL and the mental component of the SF-36. The AVVQ had inadequate reliability but its validity was also doubtful when compared to the SF-36. The VARIShort demonstrated good internal consistency, reproducibility, and validity, but only the original study was included. For venous leg ulcers, the CCVUQ showed adequate reliability and validity when compared to VLU-QoL.

Differences in health-related quality of life in patients with mild and severe chronic venous insufficiency: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) has a broad spectrum of clinical expression, ranging from mild to severe cases, which negatively impacts the health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, the comparison in HRQoL between mild and severe CVI has not yet been systematically discussed, which could assist in the adoption of preventive strategies METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted (protocol register https://osf.io/mr4aj/) following a search of the MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, LILACS, and Scopus databases, using the terms related to CVI and HRQoL. Observational studies that assessed the HRQoL in individuals with CVI in different degrees of severity were included, without date restriction RESULTS: We retrieved 4750 titles and abstracts and 9 were included in this review. The HRQoL was worse in patients with severe CVI compared to mild patients at Short-form of Health Survey (SF-36) (mean difference 11.02, 95% CI from 8.62 to 13.43; p<0.001), Chronic Venous Insufficiency Quality Of Life Questionnaire (CIVIQ-14) (mean difference 13.07; 95% CI from 11.33 to 14.82; p<0.001) and Aberdeen Varicose Veins Questionnaire (mean difference 7.7; 95% CI: -12.82 to -2.58; p=0.003), especially in the physical domains. There was no difference in the HRQoL between severe and mild patients at CIVIQ-20 (p=0.09) CONCLUSION: The HRQoL was worse in the physical domains in patients with severe CVI when compared to mild patients. However, the heterogeneity of the results was high and the data should be interpreted with caution.

Ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy for chronic venous disease with ulcer. A prospective multiple outcome cohort study

Background

Chronic Venous Disease (CVD) is the main cause of chronic leg ulcers. Varicose veins are the most frequent cause of venous leg ulcers (VLU). 50.9% of Brazilian women have varicose veins and ulcer prevalence is as high as 4%. Ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy (UGFS) is a low-cost treatment option for varicose veins.

Objectives

To analyze UGFS outcomes in patients with VLU.

Methods

Prospective consecutive single center cohort study. Patients with great saphenous vein (GSV) reflux and VLU were treated and followed-up for 180 days. The following were studied: quality of life (QoL), disease severity, healing, and elimination of GSV reflux. The Aberdeen questionnaire, a venous clinical severity score, and Duplex scanning (DS) results were analyzed.

Results

22 patients aged 35 to 70 years were treated. There was improvement in quality of life, disease severity reduced, and ulcer diameter reduced (p < 0.001; ANOVA). 77.27% of VLU healed completely (95%CI: 59.76-94.78%). The dimensions of 20/22 VLU reduced (90.91%; 95%CI: 78.9-100%). GSV reflux was eliminated in 63.64% (95%CI: 43.54-83.74%). Men had greater QoL benefit and women had more complications. There were no severe complications. The VLU that had healed completely at the end of the study were smaller at baseline than those that did not completely heal. The GSV that were completely occluded at the end of the study were smaller at baseline than those that were not completely occluded (p < 0.05; Mann-Whitney).

Conclusion

The results suggest that most patients benefited from UGFS.

Determination of the longitudinal sensitivity of the AVVQ-Brazil Quality of Life Questionnaire to non-surgical treatment of chronic venous disease

Background

Sensitivity determines the efficiency and quality of construction of an assessment measure, but studies of the subject are scarce in the literature.

Objective

To evaluate the longitudinal sensitivity of the AVVQ-Brazil to clinical changes after treatment for chronic venous disease (CVD).

Methods

A longitudinal intervention study, with 112 chronic venous patients receiving elective treatment, assessed with CEAP, VAPS, AVVQ-Brazil, and VEINES-QOL/Sym at pre-treatment (baseline) and post-treatment (4 weeks). Differences in the scores for the scales at different times were evaluated using Student’s t test for paired samples and Wilcoxon’s z, which were also used to asses individuals by CEAP grade and assessment time. Effect size, confidence intervals, and partial η² were used to determine the sensitivity of changes in scale scores over time. Correlations between changes in the scores of the same scales and between different scales were measured using Pearson coefficients, Spearman coefficients, and Kendall’s tau-b coefficient.

Results

The mean age of the patients was 59.51 years. The majority were female (82.1%), with standing for prolonged periods (49.1%), had completed secondary (22.3%) or higher (25%) education, and had CEAP C2 (28.6%) or C6 (32.1%) clinical severity. The following results were observed: mean scale scores reduced from baseline to post-treatment, except for the Extent of Varicosities domain of the AVVQ-Brazil and the VEINES-QOL/Sym scales; sensitivity was low for the AVVQ-Brazil and its domains and for the VAPS, and was from low to high for the other scales; there were improvements or maintenance of CEAP grade after treatment; and moderate to excellent correlations between changes in scale scores over time.

Conclusions

The AVVQ-Brazil is sensitive to longitudinal clinical changes after treatment for CVD and is an important measure for assessment of QoL and of disease severity in Brazil.

Ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy for severe chronic venous insufficiency

Chronic venous insufficiency is characterized by cutaneous alterations caused by venous hypertension; in severe forms, it progresses to lower limb ulcers. Lower limb varicose veins are the main cause of chronic venous insufficiency, and the classic treatment includes surgery and compressive therapy. Minimally invasive alternative treatments for varicose veins include new techniques such as venous thermal ablation using laser or radiofrequency. The use of different methods depends on clinical and anatomical factors. Ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy is the venous injection of sclerosing foam controlled by Doppler ultrasound. Sclerotherapy is very useful to treat varicose veins, and probably, is cheaper than other methods. However, until the present, it is the less studied method.