What is the release date of QOL (Quality of Life) Bronchiectasis version 3.1?

QOL-Bronchiectasis Version 3.1 Release Date

The Quality of Life Questionnaire-Bronchiectasis (QOL-B) version 3.1 was released in 2014.

Background on QOL-B Development

The QOL-B is the first disease-specific, patient-reported outcome measure specifically designed for patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. Its development followed a rigorous process:

1. Initial Development:

   • Content was derived from literature reviews, existing measures, and physician input
   • Preliminary cognitive testing with 35 bronchiectasis patients generated version 1.0
   • Open-ended patient interviews (n=28) led to version 2.0

2. Version 3.0 Development:

   • Psychometric analyses using data from an open-label phase 2 trial with 89 patients
   • Resulted in a 37-item questionnaire with 8 scales:
     • Respiratory symptoms
     • Physical functioning
     • Role functioning
     • Emotional functioning
     • Social functioning
     • Vitality
     • Health perceptions
     • Treatment burden

3. Final Version 3.1:

   • Created after a final cognitive testing study (n=40)
   • Involved a minor change to one social functioning scale item 1
   • This is the version that was released in 2014

Clinical Importance of QOL-B

The QOL-B has become an important tool in bronchiectasis management for several reasons:

• Validated Measurement: The QOL-B demonstrates excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α ≥0.70) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients ≥0.72) 2

• Exacerbation Prediction: Recent research shows that the QOL-B Respiratory Symptom Scale (QOL-B-RSS) can predict future exacerbation risk in adults with bronchiectasis 3

• Treatment Response Assessment: The minimal important difference for the Respiratory Symptoms scale has been established at 8.0 points, allowing clinicians to assess meaningful clinical changes 2

Implementation in Guidelines

The importance of quality of life assessment in bronchiectasis is recognized in major clinical guidelines:

• The British Thoracic Society guidelines recommend considering routine monitoring of quality of life when planning interventions 4

• The European Respiratory Society guidelines recognize the importance of quality of life assessment in bronchiectasis management 5

Clinical Application

When using the QOL-B in practice:

• Scores for each scale are standardized on a 0-100 point scale
• Higher scores indicate better health-related quality of life
• No total score is calculated
• The QOL-B can detect clinically meaningful changes in respiratory symptoms during exacerbations (mean decrease of approximately 14 points) 2

Relationship to Disease Factors

Quality of life in bronchiectasis patients is related to:

• Disease etiology: Patients with COPD-related bronchiectasis show significantly lower QOL compared to other etiologies 6

• Disease severity: Increasing severity as measured by validated tools (FACED, E-FACED, Bronchiectasis Severity Index) correlates with lower QOL 6

The QOL-B version 3.1 remains the current standard for assessing quality of life in bronchiectasis patients and is valuable for both clinical practice and research purposes.