Development and validation of a questionnaire to measure empowerment in adult patients with atopic dermatitis. The DATEMP questionnaire.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In recent years, the hypothesis that increasing the empowerment of patients can help to improve health outcomes and rationalize the use of health services has become relevant, especially for chronic diseases. Developing validated measurement tools is necessary to achieve this goal. In the field of dermatology, there are few studies related to empowerment of the patient. The aim of the present research is to develop and validate a self-administered questionnaire for adult patients diagnosed with atopic dermatitis (AD) in order to measure their level of empowerment. METHODS: After a literature review and the establishment of consulting groups of patients and dermatologists, a large battery of 35 items was generated, based on the dimensions included in previous empowerment descriptions. A multidisciplinary group selected the 20 most suitable items to include in the questionnaire. A cross-sectional study was carried out with the items included in the questionnaire as well as demographic and clinical characteristics. To reduce the number of items and measure the construct validity, an exploratory factorial analysis (EFA) of the primary components and varimax rotation were used. Cronbach's α was used to measure the reliability of the individual scales and the global questionnaire. RESULTS: 242 valid questionnaires were included. After completion of the EFA, the final Dermatitis Atópica EMPoderamiento (DATEMP) questionnaire was composed of 17 items that converged on four factors. The four scales had adequate reliability: "Knowledge" (Cronbach's alpha = 0.808), "Abilities" (Cronbach's alpha = 0.744), "Intention to change" (Cronbach's alpha = 0.798) and "Coping skills" (Cronbach's alpha = 0.772). The overall Cronbach's α of the questionnaire was 0.764. CONCLUSIONS: The DATEMP questionnaire is the first specific empowerment measurement instrument developed for patients with AD that has demonstrated adequate levels of reliability and construct validity. It is a self-administered questionnaire that is simple and quick to answer.

Oral Nadolol for Children with Infantile Hemangiomas and Sleep Disturbances with Oral Propranolol.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Oral propranolol has been shown to be safe and effective in infants with infantile hemangioma (IH). Side effects such as sleep disturbances have been associated with propranolol. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral nadolol in a small series of patients whose propranolol therapy was discontinued due to sleep disturbances. METHODS: A retrospective study of patients with IHs who were treated with oral nadolol due to propranolol-related sleep disturbances at a pediatric tertiary care center between July 2008 and March 2013. Clinical response to oral nadolol and disappearance of propranolol-related side effects were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 97 patients presenting IH received oral propranolol. Nine patients (9.3%) developed sleep disturbances. Oral propranolol was discontinued in seven patients and switched to oral nadolol, with resolution of these side effects in 5 (71%) of the cases. One patient developed sleep disturbances again after four months of oral nadolol. LIMITATIONS: The sample size was too small to draw generalizable conclusions and to draw any statistical inference as to the incidence of sleep disturbances with nadolol therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The use of oral nadolol in the treatment of IH in our series of 7 patients, resolved the propranolol-related sleep disturbances in 5 (71%), while in one patient the symptoms recurred after 4 months of oral nadolol at a dose of 2 mg/kg/day. In most cases, switching beta-blockers did not compromise efficacy, and is recommended when sleep disturbance necessitates discontinuation of beta-blocker therapy of IH.