Publications by authors named "Sheri E Fehnel"

Background: Familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) is a rare metabolic disorder that impacts physical, emotional, social, and cognitive functioning. The FCS-Symptom and Impact Scale (FCS-SIS) patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure assesses common symptoms and impacts of FCS. This study was conducted to evaluate cross-sectional psychometric properties of the FCS-SIS and its scoring method.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess the reliability and validity of the Diary for Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptoms-Constipation (DIBSS-C) for measuring symptoms in IBS with constipation.
  • Data was gathered from 108 adults over 17 days using a smartphone device, evaluating bowel movements and abdominal symptoms through various scales.
  • The findings showed high consistency and reliability in measuring abdominal symptoms, with strong correlations supporting the DIBSS-C's effectiveness, helping to qualify it for use in IBS-C clinical trials by the FDA.
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Objectives: To facilitate the development of new therapies for Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), we sought to develop a reliable and valid assessment of anxiousness and distress, common characteristics that have a significant negative impact on individuals with PWS and their families.

Methods: The PWS Anxiousness and Distress Behaviors Questionnaire (PADQ) was developed with extensive input from clinical experts, as well as caregivers of individuals with PWS, who participated in iterative sets of qualitative interviews. The psychometric properties of the PADQ were subsequently demonstrated in a cross-sectional evaluation using data from the Global PWS Registry provided by > 400 caregivers and confirmed using data from a phase 3 clinical trial of an oxytocin analogue (intranasal carbetocin, LV-101).

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The Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-Lite Clinical Trials Version (IWQOL-Lite-CT) was developed to assess weight-related physical and psychosocial functioning in the context of clinical trials. Data from two pivotal trials of once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide for the purpose of weight management (NCT03548935 and NCT03552757) were analysed to confirm the structure, reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the IWQOL-Lite-CT and evaluate the magnitude of meaningful within-patient change in patients with overweight or obesity, with and without type 2 diabetes. Factor analyses and inter-item correlations confirmed the IWQOL-Lite-CT structure and scoring algorithm.

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While patient-reported outcome measures are available to evaluate health-related quality of life and functioning in obesity, existing measures do not evaluate the impact of excess weight and weight loss on the ability to perform regularly occurring daily activities. Three iterative sets of qualitative interviews were conducted in two countries (United States, n = 23; United Kingdom, n = 23) with individuals with body mass index ≥30 kg/m to inform development of the Impact of Weight on Daily Activities Questionnaire (IWDAQ) for use in clinical trials to evaluate daily activity limitations associated with excess weight. Candidate concepts were selected based on the literature, expert opinion, and previously conducted qualitative research, after which the draft IWDAQ was developed and tested.

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The Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-Lite (IWQOL-Lite) is widely used in evaluations of weight-loss interventions, including pharmaceutical trials. Because this measure was developed using input from individuals undergoing intensive residential treatment, the IWQOL-Lite may include concepts not relevant to clinical trial populations and may be missing concepts that are relevant to these populations. An alternative version, the IWQOL-Lite Clinical Trials Version (IWQOL-Lite-CT), was developed and validated according to the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) guidance on patient-reported outcomes.

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Introduction: To improve understanding of the diabetic gastroparesis (DGP) patient experience and inform the patient-reported outcome measurement strategy for future trials in DGP, qualitative interviews were conducted with participants in a phase 2 clinical trial of a novel DGP treatment.

Methods: Trial participants were invited to participate in interviews at both the pretreatment visit (PTV) and the end-of-treatment visit (EOTV). The interviews were conducted by experienced qualitative researchers and followed a semistructured interview guide.

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Objective: To evaluate physician knowledge of and attitudes about binge-eating disorder (BED) and the value and ease-of-use of the 7-item Binge Eating Disorder Screener (BEDS-7) in clinical practice.

Methods: Two internet surveys (wave 1: April 15-May 6, 2015; wave 2: August 19-25, 2015) were administered to primary care physicians serving adults (PCPs-adults) and psychiatrists. Wave 1 invitees were US-based physicians spending ≥ 50% of their time in direct patient care and reporting "no" to "some to average" experience with eating-disorder patients.

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Article Synopsis
  • Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic digestive disorder with three subtypes based on stool patterns: diarrhea-predominant, constipation-predominant, and mixed IBS.
  • The study aimed to create patient-reported outcome measures for IBS that the FDA could qualify, using qualitative interviews to gather data from IBS patients meeting specific criteria.
  • Findings highlighted that symptom importance varied by IBS subtype, leading to refined measures and a pilot study set to enhance scoring and validate the outcomes further.
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Background: Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is a rare disease with three forms based on the age at onset of signs and symptoms. The objective of this study was to develop a caregiver-reported clinical outcome assessment that measures impairments in physical functioning related to activities of daily living in patients with juvenile MLD.

Methods: A targeted literature review and exploration of proprietary research, including a conceptual model, were conducted.

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Objective: Develop a brief, patient-reported screening tool designed to identify individuals with probable binge-eating disorder (BED) for further evaluation or referral to specialists.

Methods: Items were developed on the basis of the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, existing tools, and input from 3 clinical experts (January 2014). Items were then refined in cognitive debriefing interviews with participants self-reporting BED characteristics (March 2014) and piloted in a multisite, cross-sectional, prospective, noninterventional study consisting of a semistructured diagnostic interview (to diagnose BED) and administration of the pilot Binge-Eating Disorder Screener (BEDS), Binge Eating Scale (BES), and RAND 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (RAND-36) (June 2014-July 2014).

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  • The study analyzed the effectiveness of patient-reported outcome measures for chronic constipation (CC) in clinical trials of linaclotide, highlighting that previous measures fell short of FDA standards.
  • Using data from multiple trials, the researchers assessed the measurement properties of CC Symptom Severity Measures, confirming their reliability and validity through various statistical analyses.
  • Results showed that linaclotide significantly improved both abdominal and bowel symptoms in CC patients, supporting the effectiveness of the analyzed measures for evaluating treatment outcomes in clinical studies.
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  • Research highlights that chronic constipation (CC) not only involves bowel symptoms but also significant abdominal symptoms experienced by patients.
  • A study involving literature reviews and patient interviews identified a range of symptoms important for clinical trials, discovering 62 distinct symptoms related to CC.
  • Findings emphasize that both bowel and abdominal symptoms are crucial for understanding patient experiences and should be included in clinical trial assessments to evaluate treatment benefits effectively.
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Patient-centered outcomes research collects and analyzes data from patients and other stakeholders to improve health care delivery and outcomes and guide health care decisions. However, there are a number of challenges in conducting quantitative analyses of patient-centered data. This article provides an overview of the analytical challenges and describes approaches to consider to overcome the challenges, as well as directions for future development.

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Objective: To identify and explore concepts important to patients with cognitive symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD) and adapt an existing patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure to assess these symptoms.

Methods: Four focus groups were conducted with MDD patients (n = 33) to elicit relevant concepts and determine whether one of several PRO scales could be used to assess cognitive symptoms of depression. Following selection and minor modification of the Perceived Deficits Questionnaire (PDQ), cognitive debriefing interviews were conducted with additional patients (n = 17) to further refine and adapt this measure for use in MDD.

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Objective: To assess the psychometric properties of a new patient-reported migraine instrument, the Completeness of Response Survey (CORS), which measures a comprehensive set of factors important to patients' decisions regarding the initiation and continuation of treatment.

Background: Traditionally, migraine treatments and the instruments used to demonstrate their efficacy have focused on the relief of headache pain. As new treatments emerge with the potential for more complete and consistent migraine relief, more comprehensive tools are needed to demonstrate these benefits.

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The cognitive interview, with a focus on debriefing methods, was developed in the 1980s to identify sources of potential response error in surveys or questionnaires. With the release of the final US FDA guidance, titled 'Patient-Reported Outcome Measures: Use in Medical Product Development to Support Labeling Claims', cognitive interviews have gained importance and relevance both for concept elicitation and debriefing purposes in the context of instrument development. This article is intended as a guide for the researcher working with special populations in methods to foster successful cognitive interviews that meet FDA standards.

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Objective: To better understand depression's impact on family functioning from the perspectives of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and their partners; to develop and test patient and partner versions of a new self-reported measure, the Depression and Family Functioning Scale (DFFS), for use in clinical trials.

Methods: Concept elicitation interviews were conducted with 32 adults with clinician-diagnosed moderate-to-severe MDD and their respective partners. Twenty-six items were drafted to address relevant aspects of family functioning and were then tested and refined through two iterative sets of cognitive debriefing interviews, each conducted by the same pair of highly experienced researchers, including a licensed clinical psychologist.

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Background: In some women, uterine fibroids are associated with severe, disabling symptoms. There is a lack of high-quality evidence supporting the effectiveness of most interventions for symptomatic uterine fibroids. In part, this is due to the lack of available disease-specific instruments with comprehensive validation evidence that measure treatment benefit from the patient perspective.

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Purpose: The objective of this study was to develop and validate a patient-reported outcome instrument to comprehensively assess the consequences of inadequate sleep for use in insomnia-related studies.

Methods: To inform item development, relevant constructs were identified through patient focus groups, literature review, and expert input. Following a translatability assessment for United States (US) English, US Spanish, and French, the draft items were refined through iterative sets of patient interviews in the United States and France.

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In recent years, the US FDA has become more critical of instruments used to measure patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in clinical trials. To facilitate decisions related to the approval of drugs, labels and promotional claims based on PROs, the FDA created the Study Endpoints and Label Development (SEALD) group. SEALD has developed a PRO guidance related to the use of PRO measures used to support drug approvals and label claims, including recommendations for establishing thresholds for meaningful change at the individual level (i.

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Background: The choice of endpoints is crucial for proper evaluation of agents in clinical trials of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In a recently published draft guidance for IBS from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), urgency was not considered an appropriate primary endpoint. The FDA's position is that it is not clear how patients with diarrhea-predominant IBS (D-IBS) "define or describe urgency".

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