A comparative review of health-related quality-of-life measures for use in HIV/AIDS clinical trials.

With the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), HIV-infected patients are living longer and are concerned not only with a treatment's ability to extend their life but also with the quality of the life they are able to lead. Regulatory authorities are also paying closer attention to the use of health-related quality-of-life (HR-QOL) measures in clinical trials and to the subsequent claims that are made based on the results. This paper reviews existing HR-QOL measures reported in the HIV/AIDS literature since 1990 and identifies those most worthy of consideration for use in future clinical trials.

Validation of a patient-administered questionnaire to measure the activity impairment experienced by women with uncomplicated urinary tract infection: the Activity Impairment Assessment (AIA).

Background: To validate a questionnaire to assess the activity impairment associated with uncomplicated urinary tract infection (uUTI).

Methods: The Activity Impairment Assessment (AIA) assesses the amount of time an individual's work or regular activities have been impaired as a result of their UTI. The measure was completed by 276 women with uUTI who had participated in a prospective, open-label, non-comparative multi-centre clinical trial of CIPRO XR (extended-release ciprofloxacin).