Patient reported outcome measures for cardiac ablation procedures: a multicentre pilot to develop a new questionnaire

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Kathleen L. Withers, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board; Judith White, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board; Grace Carolan-Rees, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board; Hannah Patrick, Natl Inst Hlth & Care Excellence; Peter O'Callaghan, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board; Stephen Murray, Freeman Hospital; David Cunningham, University College London; Kathryn Wood, Emory University; Mauro Lencioni, New Queen Elizabeth Hospital; Michael Griffith, New Queen Elizabeth Hospital
• Language: English
• Date: 2014-11-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP): Policy B - Oxford Open Option B
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2014 Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/europace/euu032
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: EP-Europace
• ISSN: 1099-5129
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 11
• Start Page: 1626
• End Page: 1633
• Grant/Funding Information: Cedar is funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to act as an External Assessment Centre (EAC) for the Medical Technologies Evaluation Programme.; Funding to pay the Open Access publication charges for this article was provided by Cedar.
• Keywords: Cardiovascular System & Cardiology; Science & Technology; Patient reported outcome measures; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Quality of life; Cardiac ablation; Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems; Arrhythmia; PROMs
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Nursing; Health Sciences, General

Abstract

Aim To assess the feasibility of administering Patient Reported Outcomes Measures (PROMs) in patients treated with ablation for cardiac arrhythmias, and to conduct the first stage of development and testing of a new PROM tool. Methods and results A new tool was developed by a multidisciplinary team and tested alongside an adaptation of the patient perception of arrhythmia questionnaire (PPAQ) and EQ-5D-5L in a multicentre retrospective audit involving 791 consecutive cardiac arrhythmia patients treated with catheter ablation at three UK centres over 13 months. Data were recorded in the National Cardiac Rhythm Management Database, part of the National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research. The response rate was 71.9% (n = 569). Patients reported significant improvements across all outcomes and impacts, with reductions in symptoms of 51.7% (heart racing), 33.9% (fatigue) 31.8% (heart flutters), 43.5% (dizziness), 38.6% (breathlessness), 44.2% (chest pressure), 33.1% (trouble concentrating), 15.9% (headache), 28.3% (neck pressure), and 23.4% (fainting) (P < 0.001). The mean number of social days affected reduced by 7.49 days/month (P < 0.001); mean work/school days affected/month reduced by 6.26 (P < 0.001); mean GP/hospital visits reduced by 1.36 days/month (P < 0.001). The procedure met patient expectations in 72% of responders. Conclusions The high response rate suggests that the use of PROMs in this patient group is feasible, with rates equalling those of the National PROMs Programme. The results showed that patients experienced significant improvements in their quality of life following ablation, while feedback allowed the tools to be improved. Further work is required to validate these tools; however, the findings suggest that PROMs could be useful in the audit of ablation techniques. © 2014 © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.