Validation of the Spanish version of the liver disease quality of life instrument among candidates for liver transplant.

Objective: To validate a Spanish version of the Liver Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire (LDQOL 1.0) among patients awaiting hepatic transplantation.

Methods: This observational, cross-sectional study was performed between May 2002 and June 2006. We included ambulatory or hospitalized patients aged 18 or over with chronic liver disease awaiting transplantation. Patients completed the LDQOL 1.0. The feasibility of the LDQOL for clinical use was tested by examining the administration time and values for the questionnaire's 12 disease-specific scales. Reliability was tested by examining the internal consistency of the scales (Cronbach's alpha). Known group validity was tested by examining the questionnaire's ability to discriminate between patients with hepatocellular (HCC), liver cirrhosis (CH), hepatitis C virus infection, and alcohol-induced CH.

Results: A total of 200 patients were included in the analysis. Their mean age (SD) was 52.6 (9.8) years; 73% of the sample were men. The most common indication for liver transplant was HCC (34%). The mean (SD) time to complete the LDQOL 1.0 was 35 minutes (21 minutes). Over 20% of patients scored at the ceiling (maximum possible score) on seven of the 12 disease-specific scales. Floor effects were less marked. All dimensions had Cronbach alpha coefficients over 0.60. The lowest value (0.64) was found in the sexual problems (women) dimension. Patients with HCC had significantly higher scores on several scales, including symptoms of liver disease (P = .000), effects of liver disease (P = .000), concentration (P = .002), memory (P = .015), quality of social interaction (P = .030), sleep (P = .000), loneliness (P = .043), and stigma (P = .028). Statistically significant differences were found between HCC patients and alcohol-induced CH patients in only two dimensions.

Conclusions: Among pretransplant patients, the Spanish version of the LDQOL 1.0 showed substantial ceiling effects and the length of administration makes its application in clinical practice difficult. This preliminary analysis showed good internal consistency for the disease-specific scales and acceptable known group validity.