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Table 1 Instruments developed to assess symptoms or quality of life of cancer patients under palliative care
| Author | Country (language) | Instrument | No. of items | Population profile | Sample | Time to retest | Objective confirmation of clinical stability | Type of statistics used | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (total) | n (retest) | ||||||||
| Axelsson et al. [10] | Sweden (Swedish) | AQEL | 22 | ACP. Median age = 67.5 years, mean and median KPS = 62.3 and 70, respectively. | 71 | 30 | 3 days | Not described | Spearman Rank correlation |
| Cohen et al. [11] | Canada (English) | MQOL | 16 | ACP. Could be receiving chemotherapy. Mean age: 59 years). Life expectancy greater than 2 weeks. | 100 | 49-59 | 2 days | Yes | ICC |
| Llobera et al. [12] | Spain (Spanish) | HRCA-QL index | 5 | APC (end-of-life). Median survival = 59 days. | 200 | 39 | 1 month (mean) | Yes | ICC |
| Mystakidou et al. [13] | Greece (Hellenic) | PLQI | 28 | Patients with symptomatic incurable cancer. Off anticancer treatment for ≥ 3 months. All patients classified as ECOG-PS ≥ 2 (ECOG-PS3 = 68%). | 120 | 120 | 7 days | No | Spearman Rank correlation |
| Steinhauser et al. [14] | USA (English) | QUAL-E | 25 | Terminal CHF, ESRD, COPD, and stage IV cancer (56%). | 248 | 135-170 | 7 days | Yes | ICC |
| Lopes Ferreira et al. [15] | Portugal (Portuguese) | POS | 10 | ACP (life expectancy < 1 year), non-terminal, many of them undergoing chemotherapy. | 109 | 30 | 7 days | No | Pearson correlation |
| Suárez-del-Real et al. [16] | Mexico (Spanish) | QLQ-C15-PAL | 15 | ACP undergoing exclusive palliative care. KPS < =70% = 78%. | 83 | 30 | 15.7 days (mean) | No | Repeated measures ANOVA |
| Leppert et al. [17] | Poland (Polish) | QLQ-C15-PAL | 15 | ACP undergoing palliative care. | 129 | 129 | 7 days | No | Spearman Rank correlation |
| Kim et al. [18] | Korea (Korean) | MQLS | 32 | Mortality rate during study = 80%, ECOG-PS > = 3 = 71.2%. | 70 | 54-64 | 3 hours and 7 days | No | ICC |
| Kim et al. [19] | Korea (Korean) | HQLS | 43 | Advanced cancer patients under exclusive palliative care. ECOG-PS3/4 = 64.2%. | 180 | 88 | 1-2 weeks | No | Not described |
| Serra-Prat et al. [20] | Spain (Spanish) | POS | 10 | ACP under palliative care. Mean KPS = 50.93%. | 200 | Not described | 1 week | Yes | ICC |
| Eisenchlas et al. [21] | Argentina (Spanish) | POS | 10 | ACP under palliative care. ECOG-PS 3/4 = 58%. | 65 | 24 | 2 days | No | Weighted kappa agreement |
| Guo et al. [22] | USA (English) | Brief Hospice Inventory | 17 | Geriatric population (mean age = 78 years, 83% ≥ 70 years) 47% Advanced cancer under hospice care in 47%. | 145 | 63 | 1 week | No | Not described |
| Lo et al. [23] | China (Chinese) | MQOL | 16 | Incurable ACP. | 462 | 20 | 2 days | No | ICC |
| Shahidi et al. [24] | Iran (Persian) | MQOL | 16 | Mean KPS = 74.8%. Any type of incurable cancer with an estimated life expectancy of < 12 months was considered for the study. | 61 | Not clearly stated | 24-72 hours | No | Pearson correlation |
| Harding et al. [25] | South Africa and Uganda (most spoke IsiZulu1) | APCA African Palliative Outcome Scale | 10 | Hospice patients, including ACP. Limited self-care and completely disabled = 41.7%. | 682 | 307 | 21.2 hours (mean) | No | ICC |
| Hearn et al. [26] | England and Scotland (English) | POS | 10 | ACP (98%) under palliative care. Limited activity or disabled = 47.1%. | 168 | 34 | 3-7 days | Yes | Weighted kappa agreement |
| Wilson et al. [27] | Canada (English) | SISC | 13 | ACP under palliative care. Median survival = 46 days. | 68 | 46 | 1-3 days | No | Pearson correlation |
| Agra et al. [28] | Spain (Spanish) | RSCL | 39 | ACP under palliative care. Terminal illness (life expectancy < 6 months). KPS < 70% in 65.2%. | 118 | 116 | 24 hours | No | ICC |
| Chang et al. [29] | USA (English) | ESAS | 10 | ACP under palliative care. Mostly elderly male patients. | 233 | 19-23 | 1 day and 1 week | No | Spearman Rank correlation |
| Stiel et al. [30] | Germany (German) | MIDOS | 12 | ACP under palliative care. ECOG-PS 3/4 = 56.6%. | 60 | 60 | 1 day | No | Pearson correlation |
| Moro et al. [31] | Italy (Italian) | ESAS | 10 | ACP under exclusive palliative care. In-patients, KPS ≤ 40 = 75%. Median survival = 35 days. | 241 | 60 | 24-48 hours | No | ICC |
| Mystakidou et al. [32] | Greece (Greek) | MDASI | 19 | ACP under palliative care. ECOG-PS 3/4 = 63%. | 150 | 100 | 3 days | No | Pearson correlation |
| Pautex et al. [33] | Swiss (French) | ESAS | 10 | ACP under palliative care. Mean age = 72 years. | 42 | 42 | 1 day | No | Paired t test |
| Stiel et al. [34] | Germany (German) | HOPE-SP-CL | 16 | ACP under palliative care; inpatients. | 31,055 | 332-472 | 7 days | No | Spearman Rank correlation |
| Carvajal et al. [35] | Spain (Spanish) | ESAS | 10 | ACP under palliative care. KPS ≤ 70% = 45.5%. | 171 | 146 | 0-6 hours | No | Spearman Rank correlation and Lin’s Concordance test |
| Radbruch et al. [36] | Germany (German) | MIDOS | 12 | ACP under palliative care. ECOG-PS 3/4 = 81.2%. | 128 | 76 | 1-6 days | Yes | Pearson correlation |
| Kwon et al. [37] | Korea (Korean) | ESAS | 10 | Mostly symptomatic ACP undergoing active antineoplastic treatment. | 162 | 162 | 2-4 hours | No | Pearson correlation |
| Aoun et al. [38] | Australia (English) | SAS | 7 | ACP under palliative care. | 572 | 60 | 2 hours | Yes | ICC |
| Pereira et al. [39] | Portugal (Portuguese) | FACT-G | 28 | ACP under PC (end-of-life). Inpatients and outpatients. Performance status not described. | 346 | 27 | 8-9 days | No | Pearson correlation |
| Sterkenburg et al. [40] | Canada (English) | MQLS | 32 | Most were ACP under palliative care. Mean survival = 49.56 days. | 84 | 73 | 3 hours and 7 days | No | ICC |
