[The use of the Mini-Cog, MMSE, and GPCOG tests in domestic clinical practice for the evaluation of cognitive disorders in elderly and senile patients: the results of a survey of experts' opinions]. / Primenenie v otechestvennoi klinicheskoi praktike testov Mini-Kog, MMSE i GPCOG dlya otsenki kognitivnykh narushenii u patsientov pozhilogo i starcheskogo vozrasta: rezul'taty oprosa mneniya spetsialistov.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the experts' opinion on the feasibility of using Mini-Kog, MMSE and GPCOG tests for screening assessment of cognitive impairment in elderly and senile patients at the primary stage of medical care, as well as to compare different characteristics of these tests according to experts' opinion. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The survey of specialists was carried out on the basis of 6 Medical Centers. Prior to the survey, specialists tested cognitive functions in elderly and senile patients during routine visits undergoing routine admission using Mini-Kog, MMSE and GPCOG tests, as well as interviewed their relatives using the corresponding section of the GPCOG. During the survey, specialists filled out a special physician checklist containing items for indicating socio-demographic information and questions regarding the use of tests for assessing cognitive functions in elderly and senile patients in daily clinical practice. RESULTS: The survey involved 40 specialists from different cities of Russia (mean age±SD - 38.6±14.3 years, 82.5% - women). Elderly and senile patients accounted for the predominant proportion (76-100%) of all followed-up patients. All physicians considered it important to conduct a cognitive assessment in elderly patients and they have to use various cognitive tests in their practice. According to most experts, among the Mini-Kog, MMSE and GPCOG tests, all three tools are informative, convenient and suitable for screening cognitive impairment in geriatric patients. The MMSE test is more informative and convenient. Mini-Kog, compared to the other two tools, is the simplest and most time-efficient tool that is also better perceived by patients. An advantage of the GPCOG is the possibility of participation of informants in the assessment of cognitive functions in older patients. CONCLUSION: The findings could be used in further research focused on improving the approaches for early detection of cognitive impairment in geriatric patients by primary care physicians.

Quality of life in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism before and after parathyroidectomy: long term single center experience.

BACKGROUND: Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a common endocrine disorder caused by a parathyroid tumor or hyperplasia, which is often accompanied with quality of life (QoL) impairment. A parathyroidectomy (PTX) is the preferred standard treatment for PHPT patients. In this single center study we aimed to evaluate the impact of PHPT on patient's QoL and identify QoL changes at early and long-term follow-up after surgery. METHODS: All the patients underwent routine PTX with the removal of the suspected hyperparathyroid gland(s). Patients filled out generic QoL questionnaire RAND SF-36, specific questionnaire PHPQoL and specific symptom assessment questionnaire PAS upon admission to the hospital before surgery, at 3 months, 12 months and 24 months after surgery. RESULTS: A total of 92 patients with PHPT (median age was 56 years, 95.7% females) were included in the study. Before PTX patient's QoL by SF-36 scores was significantly lower as compared to healthy controls (p < 0.01). Almost 40% of patients had poor or very poor QoL. The most frequent symptoms by PAS before surgery were as follows: tiredness (97.8% of patients), weakness (94.6%), forgetfulness (94.6%), mood changes (90%), feeling "blue"/depression (88%), joint pains (83.3%), headaches (80.2%), constant irritability (77.2%), bone pains (75%), thirst (70.7%) and trouble getting out of a chair (67.4%). The half of the patients had moderate-to-severe (≥ 40 scores) tiredness, weakness, joint pains, forgetfulness, as well as mood changes. Post-operative QoL changes were analysed in the group of 72 patients. After surgery there was significant improvement in QoL by all scales of SF-36 questionnaire, excluding bodily pain, and the PHPQoL total score (GEE, p < 0.01) as compared with their values before surgery. Also severity of tiredness, mood changes, weakness and forgetfulness significantly decreased after surgery as compared to their baseline values (GEE, p < 0.05). Decreased mental component of QoL by PHPQoL (OR = 0.927, 95%CI = 0.874-0.984, p = 0.013) predicted improved QoL after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with PHPT demonstrated significantly impaired QoL in physical, psychological and social functioning as well experienced a wide profile of common PHPT symptoms. Successful PTX was accompanied with remarkable QoL improvement and decrease in subjective symptoms for at least 24 months after surgery.

[Linguistic and cultural adaptation of the Russian version of general practitioner assessment of cognition questionnaire - GPCOG in elderly and senile patients at the primary care level]. / Yazykovaya i kul'turnaya adaptatsiya russkoyazychnoi versii oprosnika-testa GPCOG dlya otsenki vrachom-terapevtom kognitivnykh funktsii u patsientov pozhilogo i starcheskogo vozrasta na urovne pervichnogo zvena zdravookhraneniya.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Russian version of the General Practitioner's Assessment of Cognition (GPCOG) questionnaire-test was adapted in accordance with modern international recommendations, including the procedure of its consecutive translations, testing of the Russian version of the questionnaire as part of interviewing geriatric patients and their relatives, as well as expert evaluation of the Russian version by specialists and decentering. RESULTS: The testing procedure involved 8 geriatric patients (age 61-77 years, men/women - 3/5), as well as their relatives/other close persons; 8 specialists participated in the questionnaire (age 24-52 years, all women). Based on the data of interviewing patients and their relatives, an acceptable indicator of the external validity of the Russian version of the tool was established, according to the results of the questionnaire of specialists, its substantive validity was confirmed. The results of testing the GPCOG questionnaire-test in the focus group of patients and the questionnaire of specialists made it possible to make changes for two tasks at the decentering stage, which made it possible to improve the equivalence of the instrument to its original version, taking into account the ethno-linguistic characteristics of the domestic population. CONCLUSIONS: In the process of linguistic and cultural adaptation, the final version of the GPCOG questionnaire-test In Russian was formed, equivalent to the original and corresponding to the ethnolinguistic features of the population. The use of GPCOG in domestic geriatric practice and scientific research is possible after testing the instrument in a population of elderly and senile patients with the participation of primary care specialists and evaluating the psychometric properties of the instrument - reliability, sensitivity and specificity within the validation procedure.

[Quality of life in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism after surgery].

BACKGROUND: For a comprehensive assessment of the effect of surgery in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), as well as for monitoring the condition of patients after treatment, it sounds reasonable to evaluate quality of life (QoL) and symptoms in PHPT patients before and after surgery. AIM: The aim of this study was to assess changes in the QoL and symptoms in patients with PHPT after surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: During prospective observational study, patients filled out QoL questionnaires and evaluated the presence and severity of their symptoms prior to parathyroidectomy (PTE) and 3, 12 months after surgery. Statistical analysis included the following methods: Student's t-test or Wilcoxon's non-parametric test, the generalized estimating equations (GEE), correlation analysis, χ2 and McNemar tests. RESULTS: The study included 72 patients (mean age 52 years, 97.2% female) with symptomatic (68.1%) and asymptomatic (31.9%) PHPT. Before surgery patients with PHPT exhibited significantly decreased role functioning, physical and social well-being, and vitality. Half of PHPT patients experienced moderate-to-severe symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, loss of concentration, mood changes, as well as joint and bone pain; the association between symptoms experienced and the extent of QoL impairment before surgery was shown. Three months after PTE improvement in both physical and psychological components of QoL was shown. Positive QoL changes were demonstrated in patients with both symptomatic and asymptomatic PHPT and they preserved for 12 months after surgery. Also within 12 months after PTE significant decrease in PHPT-associated symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, loss of concentration and mood changes was found. CONCLUSION: The results obtained demonstrate efficacy of PTE from the patient's perspective and confirm the value of QoL assessment in PHPT patients in management of this patients' population both for decision making and for evaluation of benefits of surgery and the degree of recovery of patients at long term follow-up.

[Validation and testing of the Russian version of PHPQoL questionnaire for quality of life assessment in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT)].

BACKGROUND: Quality of life (QoL) assessment before and after surgical treatment in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHTP) may be useful for comprehensive evaluation of the treatment effect, as well as for monitoring of the patient' condition after surgery, including in real clinical practice. AIM: The aim of the study was to validate and test the Russian version of the PHPQoL questionnaire for assessment of the quality of life (QoL) in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) for further application in clinical practice and research in Russia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The linguistic and cultural adaptation of the PHPQoL questionnaire was carried out in accordance with international guidelines. Psychometric properties of the tool, namely, its reliability, validity and sensitivity were tested in the focus group of patients with PHPTResults: In the whole, 65 patients with PHPT were involved into the study (mean age - 52.3 ± 10.5 years, 97% - -women): 67.7% patients were symptomatic, 35.4% patients had moderate or severe hypercalcemia. All the patients filled out the Russian version of PHPQoL before parathyroidectomy. One third of patients filled out the Russian version of PHPQoL twice - before surgery and 3 months after surgery. Satisfactory external and content validity of the Russian version of PHPQoL was demonstrated. Its stable structure confirmed satisfactory construct validity of the questionnaire. The ability of the tool to determine differences in severity of symptoms/problems due to PHPT before and after treatment was revealed. The positive effect of the surgery on QoL in PHPT patients was shown. CONCLUSION: The results obtained during the study confirm that the Russian version of PHPQoL is a reliable, valid and sensitive tool. Feasibility and applicability of its use in research and clinical practice in Russian endocrinology settings has been demonstrated.

[Development of the Russian version of quality of life questionnaire in patients with GERD - GERD-HRQL].

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common chronic disease of the upper gastrointestinal tract with long course of the disease and followed by different symptoms significantly reducing quality of life (QoL) in pts. Assessment of QoL in pts with GERD may be of value for comprehensive evaluation of treatment effect as well as for monitoring of pts during treatment course in a real clinical practice. AIM: Development of the Russian version of GERD-HRQL questionnaire to assess symptomatic outcomes of GERD in research and real clinical practice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: GERD-HRQL questionnaire (V. Velanovich, USA) consists of 11 items: 10 items for assessment of the most frequent symptoms/problems related with QoL in pts with GERD and 1 item for assessment of patient-reported global satisfaction with health condition. RESULTS: In accordance with international guidelines, the new language version of the tool may be used in research and clinical practice after cross cultural adaptation, linguistic validation and psychometric testing. This paper presents the results of cross-cultural adaptation and linguistic validation of the Russian version of GERD-HRQL. The following steps of linguistic and cultural adaptation of GERD-HRQL for Russia were conducted after the permission from the author of GERD-HRQL was obtained: forward translation with creation of two forward translations of GERD-HRQL in Russian, reconciliation and expert evaluation of translations of GERD-HRQL in Russian and creation of the preliminary version of GERD-HRQL in Russian, back translation, harmonization, creation of the first test-version of GERD-HRQL in Russian, cognitive debriefing and decentering, creation of the second test-version of GERD-HRQL in Russian, final expert evaluation and development of the final test-version of GERD-HRQL in Russian. Satisfactory face validity of the Russian test-version of GERD-HRQL was shown: face validity indices were 0.98, 0.95, 0.92, and 0.97. CONCLUSION: As the result of translation, cross cultural adaptation and linguistic validation, the Russian version of GERD-HRQL for the use in pts with GERD in Russia was developed. The Russian version of GERD-HRQL may be used in research studies and clinical practice after testing its psychometric properties.

[Testing and validation of the Russian version of quality of life questionnaire in patients with GERD - GERD-HRQL].

AIM: This study aimed to test the Russian version of GERD-HRQL in the focus group of patients with GERD, as well as to evaluate its psychometric properties reliability, validity and sensitivity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The total of 57 patients with GERD (mean age 45.812.4 years, 72% women, 68% patients with not erosive reflux disease, 84% had esophageal manifestations of GERD) were enrolled into the study. All the patients filled out the Russian version of GERD-HRQL and generic quality of life questionnaire RAND SF-36 during the routine visit to the gastroenterologist. According to the results of testing of GERD-HRQL, it was clear and easy to complete for patients and reflected the main concerns specific for GERD patients. The most frequent and bothersome symptoms/problems which interfered with quality of life in GERD patients were heartburn (100% of patients) and bloating (84% of patients). During the validation procedure, the high reliability and validity of the Russian version of GERD-HRQL were demonstrated. It was shown that the tool was sensitive both to changes over time and to clinically determined differences in patients status. RESULTS: The Total GERD-HRQL Score was significantly higher (worse quality of life) in the following groups: a) patients who had esophageal manifestations of GERB vs those without esophageal manifestations of GERB; b) patients with GERD complications vs those without GERD complications, c) patients with comorbidities of upper gastrointestinal tract vs without those comorbidities; d) patients with erosive esophagitis vs with non-erosive reflux disease (p0.05). CONCLUSION: The developed Russian version of the GERD-HRQL questionnaire proved to have high psychometric properties and may be used in the Russian population of GERD patients both in research studies and in a real clinical practice.

[Quality of life of patients with complicated reflux-esophagitis followed antireflux surgery]. / Kachestvo zhizni bol'nykh, operirovannykh po povodu refliuks-ézofagita i ego oslozhnenii.

AIM: To analyze quality of life of patients with complicated reflux-esophagitis followed antireflux surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The trial enrolled 200 patients who underwent surgical treatment at the Burdenko Faculty Surgery Clinic of Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University for complicated reflux esophagitis from 2008 to 2015. Inclusion criteria were long-standing reflux esophagitis irresistible to conservative treatment, hiatal hernia with shortening of the esophagus and/or peptic stricture and/or Barrett's esophagus. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the degree of esophagus shortening: group I - 98 patients with esophagus shortening degree I; group II - 102 patients with shortening grade II. Men/women ratio was 87(43.5%)/113(56.5%). Mean age was 56.0±13.9 years (16-83 years). We performed fundoplication in A.F. Chernousov modification in the first group and modified valvular gastroplication in the second group. All patients underwent survey within 6 months - 10 years after surgery to assess long-term outcomes. X-ray examination, upper GI endoscopy, standard laboratory tests were performed with pH-impedance and computed tomography if it was necessary. Quality of life was estimated by RAND SF-36 and GSRS (Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale) questionnaires. RESULTS: SF-36 questionnaire revealed postoperative changes of physical, psychological and social values and was able to compare them with those in general population. Postoperative overall health was significantly higher in both groups compared with preoperative level and comparable with general population. GSRS questionnaire have also revealed positive changes. Overall postoperative GSRS score was 1.6±0.5 and 1.6±0.6 points in groups I and II respectively that corresponds to minor concern after surgery.

[Quality of life and hypoglycemia burden in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus on basal-bolus insulin therapy].

This paper presents the results of the observational program "Parameters of life quality, symptoms of hypoglycemia and treatment satisfaction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus on basal-bolus insulin therapy" (2012-2014). The analysis included 1000 patients. It showed that their quality of life was below that of the general population due to compromised physical, role physical, and role emotional functioning (p < 0.001). Hypoglycemia is a serious challenge to the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus on basal-bolus insulin therapy. They are characterized by impaired physical, psychological, and social functioning compared with the patients without hypoglycemic episodes (p < 0.01). Patients experiencing mild hypoglycemic episodes were not significantly different from those without them. In patients experiencing severe hypoglycemic episodes the quality of life was much worse (ES = 0.22-0.51). The profile of hypoglycemic episodes differed in different forms of hypoglycemia. The spectrum of symptoms and problems related to hypoglycemia was broader in patients with severe and/or nocturnal hypoglycemia. Patients free from hypoglycemia were less afraid of it than those used to have hypoglycemic episodes (p < 0.001). The stronger the fear, the more pronounced disturbances in social functioning, vitality, psychic and general health (p = 0.0001). It is concluded that evaluation of quality of life and hypoglycemia-related symptoms in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus on basal-bolus insulin therapy allows for comprehensive estimation of the effectiveness of therapy on an individual basis.

[Quality of life and problems posed by hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus during oral hypoglycemic therapy].

Quality of life characteristics, hypoglycemic episodes and patients' attitude toward them were estimated in the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus based on the modern recommendations for the patient-oriented treatment with metformin in combination with sulfonylurea derivatives (M+S) therapy, traditional approach, n = 83) and metformin in combination with vildagliptin (M+V therapy, innovative approach, n = 111). M+V therapy ensured a higher quality of life than M+S therapy based on all SF-36 scales. Quality of life parameters corresponded to population norms in most patients given M+V therapy and only in 52% of those treated with M+S. The frequency of hypoglycemic episodes, related concerns, and other problems associated with this condition were less apparent in case of M+V therapy. Transition from M+S to M+V therapy resulted in the improvement of quality of life and reduction in the frequency of hypoglycemia. Quality of life did not change after transition to M+S therapy while the frequency of hypoglycemia and the number of related problems increased. HbA1c levels were similar in both groups (0.8% difference). According to patients' reports M+V therapy is more efficient than M+S; these data allow to comprehensively evaluate the efficacy of therapy and monitor the health state of diabetic patients in the course of treatment.

Clinical and quality of life responses to high-dose chemotherapy plus autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with multiple sclerosis: two case reports.

During the last several years high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) has been established as a therapeutic option for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. We report on the long-term effects of HDCT + ASCT in two female patients affected by secondary progressive and relapsing-remitting types of MS, respectively. As a result, disease stabilization was achieved in the first case and disease improvement in the second one. Both patients were off immunosuppressive or immunomodulating therapy throughout the post-transplant period. Notably, HDCT + ASCT resulted in an excellent quality of life (QoL) response in both cases. Our findings demonstrate that HDCT + ASCT could be considered as an effective treatment for MS patients. Moreover, QoL measurement seems to be an effective approach to assessment of treatment outcomes at long-term follow-up of patients with MS.