Preliminary cross-sectional reliability and validity of the Skull Base Inventory (SBI) quality of life questionnaire

Abstract

Background

The Skull Base Inventory (SBI) was developed to assess the quality of life of patients undergoing endoscopic or open approaches for anterior and central skull base pathologies. In this study, we sought to establish the discriminative and evaluative properties for this instrument.

Methods

The SBI was administered in a cross-sectional fashion to patients who previously had skull base surgery after treatment and then again 2 weeks after completing the instrument. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity were determined. Four constructs were evaluated with the following a priori hypotheses: lower scores will be seen in patients with 1.malignant versus benign histology, 2.a history of radiation versus none, and those with 3.recurrences versus no recurrence, and 4.items deemed relevant versus irrelevant by respondents.

Results

Fifty-two patients completed the questionnaire; 32 had endoscopic and 20 open surgeries. Internal consistency was good (>0.7 and <0.95) for all domains except one. Test-retest reliability was good (>0.70) for 38 of 41 items. Four constructs were evaluated and three were consistent with a priori hypotheses (p < 0.05). The instrument failed to confirm the hypothesis that malignant tumours are associated with poorer scores than benign.

Conclusions

The SBI demonstrated preliminary reliability and validity for discriminative use.

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Preliminary cross-sectional reliability and validity of the Skull Base Inventory (SBI) quality of life questionnaire

The Skull Base Inventory (SBI) was developed to assess the quality of life of patients undergoing endoscopic or open approaches for anterior and central skull base pathologies. In this study, we sought to esta...

http://ift.tt/2cqqXcJ

Clinicopathologic Features of Fatal Non-Anaplastic Follicular Cell–Derived Thyroid Carcinomas

Thyroid , Vol. 0, No. 0.


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Physiological and Metabolic Changes During the Transition from Hyperthyroidism to Euthyroidism in Graves' Disease

Thyroid , Vol. 0, No. 0.


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Cost utility analysis of the SQ® HDM SLIT-tablet in house dust mite allergic asthma patients in a German setting

Asthma affects an estimated 300 million people worldwide with the condition associated with significant healthcare utilisation costs and a large impact on patient quality of life. The SQ® HDM SLIT-tablet (ACARIZA...

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The Influence of Cochlear Mechanical Dysfunction, Temporal Processing Deficits, and Age on the Intelligibility of Audible Speech in Noise for Hearing-Impaired Listeners

The aim of this study was to assess the relative importance of cochlear mechanical dysfunction, temporal processing deficits, and age on the ability of hearing-impaired listeners to understand speech in noisy backgrounds. Sixty-eight listeners took part in the study. They were provided with linear, frequency-specific amplification to compensate for their audiometric losses, and intelligibility was assessed for speech-shaped noise (SSN) and a time-reversed two-talker masker (R2TM). Behavioral estimates of cochlear gain loss and residual compression were available from a previous study and were used as indicators of cochlear mechanical dysfunction. Temporal processing abilities were assessed using frequency modulation detection thresholds. Age, audiometric thresholds, and the difference between audiometric threshold and cochlear gain loss were also included in the analyses. Stepwise multiple linear regression models were used to assess the relative importance of the various factors for intelligibility. Results showed that (a) cochlear gain loss was unrelated to intelligibility, (b) residual cochlear compression was related to intelligibility in SSN but not in a R2TM, (c) temporal processing was strongly related to intelligibility in a R2TM and much less so in SSN, and (d) age per se impaired intelligibility. In summary, all factors affected intelligibility, but their relative importance varied across maskers.

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Preferred Compression Speed for Speech and Music and Its Relationship to Sensitivity to Temporal Fine Structure

Multichannel amplitude compression is widely used in hearing aids. The preferred compression speed varies across individuals. Moore (2008) suggested that reduced sensitivity to temporal fine structure (TFS) may be associated with preference for slow compression. This idea was tested using a simulated hearing aid. It was also assessed whether preferences for compression speed depend on the type of stimulus: speech or music. Twenty-two hearing-impaired subjects were tested, and the stimulated hearing aid was fitted individually using the CAM2A method. On each trial, a given segment of speech or music was presented twice. One segment was processed with fast compression and the other with slow compression, and the order was balanced across trials. The subject indicated which segment was preferred and by how much. On average, slow compression was preferred over fast compression, more so for music, but there were distinct individual differences, which were highly correlated for speech and music. Sensitivity to TFS was assessed using the difference limen for frequency at 2000 Hz and by two measures of sensitivity to interaural phase at low frequencies. The results for the difference limens for frequency, but not the measures of sensitivity to interaural phase, supported the suggestion that preference for compression speed is affected by sensitivity to TFS.

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