Limitations of VEINES QOL/SYM for discriminating chronic venous insufficiency severity.

BACKGROUND: The Venous Insufficiency Epidemiological and Economic Study - Quality of Life/Symptoms (VEINES-QOL / Sym) questionnaire was developed to evaluate the quality of life of individuals with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), but it has shown limited sensitivity for discriminating between people with different of disease severity. OBJECTIVES: a) to propose a new formula for calculating the VEINES-QOL/Sym score and to evaluate whether this new score is capable of discriminating disease severity; and b) to evaluate the association between VEINES-QOL/Sym scores and disease severity. METHODS: Ninety-eight participants with CVI of both sexes, aged 60.73 ± 14.11 years, answered the Portuguese Brazilian version of the VEINES-QOL/Sym questionnaire. The new score was calculated by transforming the original scores to a 0 to 100 scale. Discriminant analysis was used to test the capability of the original and modified VEINES-QOL/Sym scores to discriminate between and correctly classify groups characterized by the clinical, etiological, anatomical and pathophysiological classification (CEAP). Alpha of 5% was defined as the cutoff for significance. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between CEAP groups in terms of the original or modified VEINES-QOL/Sym scores. Discriminant analysis was also unable to correctly classify CEAP groups, using either original or modified scores. Furthermore, there were no associations between CEAP classifications and scores obtained using the questionnaire. CONCLUSIONS: The VEINES-QOL/Sym proved to have limitations for assessment of the quality of life and symptomatology of people with CVI at different stages.

Association between heel-rise test performance and clinical severity of chronic venous insufficiency.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral pump dysfunction is important in identifying manifestations of chronic venous insufficiency. The association with disease severity may define better treatment strategies. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between peripheral muscular pump performance by heel-rise test, age, physical activity, use of compression stockings, and chronic venous insufficiency clinical severity. METHODS: Subjects with chronic venous insufficiency were enrolled in the study (n = 172) and evaluated by clinical-etiology-anatomy-pathophysiology severity and heel-rise test. RESULTS: In model 1 of logistic regression, number of heel-rise test repetitions, age, and physical activity explained 47% of clinical-etiology-anatomy-pathophysiology severity (p = 0.0001), physical activity contributed the most. In model 2, heel-rise test repetition rate, age, and physical activity explained 46.4% of clinical-etiology-anatomy-pathophysiology severity (p = 0.0001), repetition rate contributed the most. Conclusion: There was an inverse association between muscular pump performance and physical activity with clinical-etiology-anatomy-pathophysiology severity, muscular pump repetition rate contributed to a less severe outcome.

Using the Human Activity Profile to Assess Functional Performance in Heart Failure.

PURPOSE: To investigate (1) the validity of using the Human Activity Profile (HAP) in patients with heart failure (HF) to estimate functional capacity; (2) the association between the HAP and 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) distance; and (3) the ability of the HAP to differentiate between New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classes. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, we evaluated 62 clinically stable patients with HF (mean age, 47.98 years; NYHA class I-III). Variables included maximal functional capacity as measured by peak oxygen uptake ((Equation is included in full-text article.)O2) using a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), peak (Equation is included in full-text article.)O2 as estimated by the HAP, and exercise capacity as measured by the 6MWT. RESULTS: The difference between the measured (CPET) and estimated (HAP) peak (Equation is included in full-text article.)O2 against the average values showed a bias of 2.18 mL/kg/min (P = .007). No agreement was seen between these measures when applying the Bland-Altman method. Peak (Equation is included in full-text article.)O2 in the HAP showed a moderate association with the 6MWT distance (r = 0.62; P < .0001). Peak (Equation is included in full-text article.)O2 in the HAP was able to statistically differentiate NYHA functional classes I, II, and III (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The estimated peak (Equation is included in full-text article.)O2 using the HAP was not concordant with the gold standard CPET measure. On the contrary, the HAP was able to differentiate NYHA functional class associated with the 6MWT distance; therefore, the HAP is a useful tool for assessing functional performance in patients with HF.

Limitação do VEINES QOL/SYM em discriminar a gravidade da insuficiência venosa crônica / Limitations of VEINES QOL/SYM for discriminating chronic venous insufficiency severity

Resumo Contexto O questionário Venous Insufficiency Epidemiological and Economic Study - Quality of Life/Symptom (VEINES-QOL/Sym) foi desenvolvido para avaliar a qualidade de vida dos indivíduos com insuficiência venosa crônica (IVC), mas ele tem se mostrado pouco sensível em discriminar indivíduos com diferentes gravidades da doença. Objetivos a) Propor uma nova forma de cálculo do escore do VEINES-QOL/Sym e avaliar se esse novo escore é capaz de discriminar a gravidade da doença; b) Avaliar a associação entre o VEINES-QOL/Sym e a gravidade da doença. Métodos Noventa e oito participantes com IVC, de ambos os sexos, idade 60,73 ± 14,11 anos, responderam o questionário VEINES-QOL/Sym, versão português do Brasil. Para o cálculo do novo escore, foi realizada uma transformação dos escores originais para uma escala de 0 a 100. Para verificar a capacidade dos escores do VEINES-QOL/Sym, originais e modificados, em discriminar e classificar corretamente os grupos caracterizados pela classificação clínica, etiológica, anatômica e patofisiológica (CEAP), foi realizada a análise discriminante, sendo considerado significante um alfa de 5%. Resultados Não houve diferença significativa entre os grupos classificados pela CEAP quanto aos escores originais e modificados do VEINES-QOL/Sym. A análise discriminante também não foi capaz de classificar corretamente os grupos CEAP, tanto para os escores originais quanto para os escores modificados do VEINES-QOL/Sym. Além disso, não houve associação entre a classificação CEAP e os escores obtidos pelo questionário. Conclusões O VEINES-QOL/Sym mostrou-se limitado para avaliar qualidade de vida e sintomatologia dos indivíduos com diferentes estágios de IVC.

Abstract Background The Venous Insufficiency Epidemiological and Economic Study - Quality of Life/Symptoms (VEINES-QOL / Sym) questionnaire was developed to evaluate the quality of life of individuals with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), but it has shown limited sensitivity for discriminating between people with different of disease severity. Objectives a) to propose a new formula for calculating the VEINES-QOL/Sym score and to evaluate whether this new score is capable of discriminating disease severity; and b) to evaluate the association between VEINES-QOL/Sym scores and disease severity. Methods Ninety-eight participants with CVI of both sexes, aged 60.73 ± 14.11 years, answered the Portuguese Brazilian version of the VEINES-QOL/Sym questionnaire. The new score was calculated by transforming the original scores to a 0 to 100 scale. Discriminant analysis was used to test the capability of the original and modified VEINES-QOL/Sym scores to discriminate between and correctly classify groups characterized by the clinical, etiological, anatomical and pathophysiological classification (CEAP). Alpha of 5% was defined as the cutoff for significance. Results There were no significant differences between CEAP groups in terms of the original or modified VEINES-QOL/Sym scores. Discriminant analysis was also unable to correctly classify CEAP groups, using either original or modified scores. Furthermore, there were no associations between CEAP classifications and scores obtained using the questionnaire. Conclusions The VEINES-QOL/Sym proved to have limitations for assessment of the quality of life and symptomatology of people with CVI at different stages.

Heel-rise test in the assessment of individuals with peripheral arterial occlusive disease.

INTRODUCTION: The heel-rise test (HRT) is a clinical instrument relevant to vascular rehabilitation that has been proposed to assess the function of the triceps surae muscle. To use HRT in the assessment of individuals with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD), its ability to detect differences in the functional performance of patients with PAOD must be verified. AIM: To verify whether the test is sensitive in differentiating between individuals with PAOD with distinct functional capacities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A transversal study in which individuals with PAOD were assessed using the HRT, the Walking Impairment Questionnaire (WIQ), and the Shuttle Walk Test. The following variables were analyzed: number of plantar flexions performed in the HRT (time in seconds) and velocity (plantar flexions per second) when performing plantar flexions up to the point of volunteer fatigue, maximum distance walked in the Shuttle Walk Test, and scores obtained in each WIQ domain. RESULTS: Twenty-five individuals (14 male) were included in the study, with a mean age of 63.36 ± 9.83 years. The variables number of plantar flexions and time to perform the HRT were sensitive enough to differentiate between distinct functional capacities in individuals with PAOD (P = 0.003 and P = 0.009, respectively). However, this result was not found for the variable of velocity in the HRT. The number of plantar flexions in the HRT was sensitive enough to differentiate individuals of extreme classes on the WIQ domain, stairs (P = 0.008). CONCLUSION: The HRT can be applied in clinical practice as a valid assessment of the distinct function capacities of individuals with PAOD.