Original articleDevelopment and Testing of the Quality of Life in Children with Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis Questionnaire
Section snippets
Methods
This study was carried out in two separate phases: the development and the validation processes, involving two different groups of patients with VKC. The questionnaire was developed using a standard multistep method. These phases are described in detail below.
Subject Characteristics
Thirty children (24 boys and six girls) with VKC completed the initial list of 42 items for the development of the new questionnaire, and 41 children with VKC (33 boys and eight girls) completed the preliminary QUICK test of 30 items for the validation phase. All patients were between five and 12 years of age. The characteristics of patients are listed in Table 1. All patients showed signs and symptoms of conjunctival inflammation with conjunctival hyperemia (100%), mucus discharge (58%), and
Discussion
This study describes the development and initial validation of an age- and disease-specific quality-of-life questionnaire for allergic keratoconjunctivitis in a group of children with VKC. VKC is, together with atopic keratoconjunctivitis, the most severe form among ocular allergies.1, 2, 14, 19 VKC is a rare disease affecting young patients with severe ocular symptoms that undoubtedly interferes with their quality of life. In addition to their intense ocular discomfort, children with VKC often
Marta Sacchetti, MD, is a PhD student of Ocular Immunology at the University of Rome “Campus Bio-Medico”. She received her medical degree from University of Rome “Tor Vergata” where she completed her residency program in Ophthalmology in 2005.
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Marta Sacchetti, MD, is a PhD student of Ocular Immunology at the University of Rome “Campus Bio-Medico”. She received her medical degree from University of Rome “Tor Vergata” where she completed her residency program in Ophthalmology in 2005.
Ilaria Baiardini currently a psychologist and psychotherapist, is a PhD student at the University of Turin, Italy. Dr Baiardini field of interest is about the Patient Reported Outcomes in allergic and respiratory diseases.