A preliminary quality of life questionnaire-bronchiectasis: a patient-reported outcome measure for bronchiectasis.

BACKGROUND: The Quality of Life Questionnaire-Bronchiectasis (QOL-B) is the first disease-specific, patient-reported outcome measure for patients with bronchiectasis. Content validity, cognitive testing, responsivity to open-label treatment, and psychometric analyses are presented. METHODS: Reviews of literature, existing measures, and physician input were used to generate the initial QOL-B. Modifications following preliminary cognitive testing (N = 35 patients with bronchiectasis) generated version (V) 1.0. An open-ended patient interview study (N = 28) provided additional information and was content analyzed to derive saturation matrices, which summarized all disease-related topics mentioned by each participant. This resulted in QOL-B V2.0. Psychometric analyses were carried out using results from an open-label phase 2 trial, in which 89 patients were enrolled and treated with aztreonam for inhalation solution. Responsivity to open-label treatment was observed. Additional analyses generated QOL-B V3.0, with 37 items on eight scales: respiratory symptoms; physical, role, emotional, and social functioning; vitality; health perceptions; and treatment burden. For each scale, scores are standardized on a 0-to-100-point scale; higher scores indicate better health-related quality of life. No total score is calculated. A final cognitive testing study (N = 40) resulted in a minor change to one social functioning scale item (QOL-B V3.1). RESULTS: Content validity, cognitive testing, responsivity to open-label treatment, and initial psychometric analyses supported QOL-B items and structure. CONCLUSIONS: This interim QOL-B is a promising tool for evaluating the efficacy of new therapies for patients with bronchiectasis and for measuring symptoms, functioning, and quality of life in these patients on a routine basis. A final psychometric validation study is needed and is forthcoming. TRIAL REGISTRY: ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT00805025; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov.

Pharmacologic agents for mucus clearance in bronchiectasis.

There are no approved pharmacologic agents to enhance mucus clearance in non-cystic fibrosis (CF) bronchiectasis. Evidence supports the use of hyperosmolar agents in CF, and studies with inhaled mannitol and hypertonic saline are ongoing in bronchiectasis. N-acetylcysteine may act more as an antioxidant than a mucolytic in other lung diseases. Dornase α is beneficial to patients with CF, but is not useful in patients with non-CF bronchiectasis. Mucokinetic agents such as ß-agonists have the potential to improve mucociliary clearance in normals and many disease states, but have not been adequately studied in patients with bronchiectasis.

Pulmonary artery sarcoma: a case report of surgical cure and 5-year follow-up.

Pulmonary artery sarcoma is a rare tumor that is frequently misdiagnosed as chronic pulmonary embolism. With heightened clinical awareness and advancement in technology, the diagnosis is now increasingly being made preoperatively. Previous literature has described the disease to be uniformly fatal, with surgical resection as the single most effective modality for short-term palliation. We present the case of a patient in whom pulmonary artery sarcoma was diagnosed preoperatively and who underwent surgical resection with no evidence of recurrence during long-term follow-up, suggesting that early identification and aggressive surgical intervention has the potential to be curative.