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Table 1 Instruments developed to assess symptoms or quality of life of cancer patients under palliative care

From: A critical analysis of test-retest reliability in instrument validation studies of cancer patients under palliative care: a systematic review

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
  1. USA United States of America, ICC intraclass correlation coefficient, CHF chronic heart failure, ANOVA Analysis of variance, ESRD end stage renal disease, COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, AQEL Assessment of Quality of Life at the End of Life, MQOL McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire, HRCA-QL index Hebrew Rehabilitation Centre for Aged Quality of Life Index, PLQI The Palliative Care Quality of Life Instrument, QUAL-E Quality of Life at the End of Life, POS Palliative Care Outcome Scale, QLQ-C15-PAL The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C15-PAL, MQLS McMaster Quality of Life Scale, HQLS Hospice Quality of Life Scale, SISC Structured Interview for Symptoms and Concerns, RSCL Rotterdam Symptom Check List, ESAS Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, MIDOS Minimal Documentation System, MDASI MD Anderson Symptom Inventory, HOPE-SP-CL Multidimensional symptom and problem checklist, SAS Symptom Assessment Scale, FACT-G Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy- General. 1 IsiZulu (49.6%), English (15.3%), isiXhosa (12.8%), Luganda (6.4%), SeSotho (6.3%), Runyoro (5.4%), Runyankole (3.9%), and SeTswana (0.4%).2 7 for the patients and 3 for the caregivers.
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BMC Medical Research Methodology

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