Search

Background: The "Adult Eosinophilic Esophagitis Quality of Life (EoE-QoL-A) Questionnaire" was developed in English as a valid, reliable, and disease-specific health-related QoL measure. This research aims to adapt and validate this questionnaire for Spanish-speaking patients. Patients and methods: A multicenter, observational, prospective study was conducted at 8 Spanish hospitals. The cultural adaptation of the original EoE-QoL-A questionnaire was undertaken through a standardized 3-phase procedure: 1. Translation; 2. Retrotranslation; and 3. Pilot study. Patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Short Form (SF)-12, the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ), and the adapted EoE-QoL-A, with a retest 3 months later. Statistical analysis included construct validity, internal consistency, criterion validity, and reproducibility. Results: One hundred and seventy adult EoE patients (73.5 % male; aged 33.5 ± 11.4-y) were included in the study. With regard to internal validity, all Cronbach alpha values were > 0.75. A significant correlation between items assessed in the SF-12, BIPQ and EoE-QoL-A questionnaires (p < 0.001) was observed. Correlations with the HADS were stronger for anxiety than for depression levels. Anxiety related to disease diagnosis and choking were the most affected dimensions; less affected were the dimensions related to eating, social, and emotional development. Intraclass correlation coefficients between the test and retest assessments were acceptable for all questionnaires, with the highest values (0.73-0.84) calculated for the EoE-QoL-A Spanish version. Conclusion: The Spanish version of the EoE-QoL-A is a reliable, valid, and responsive questionnaire. Diagnosis and choking anxiety were the most affected dimensions in the health-related QoL in adult EoE patients.

Background and aims: Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. Tacrolimus is a calcineurin inhibitor used in the prophylaxis of rejection after a solid organ transplant. There is some evidence for its use in inflammatory bowel disease, although there is a lack of information about the patients who will benefit the most with this drug and the prognostic factors for a favorable response. Material and Methods: We performed a multicentric retrospective study evaluating all the patients who have received tacrolimus in the last 10 years as a treatment for IBD in our area. Results: A total of 20 patients, 12 with Crohn's disease and 8 with ulcerative colitis, were included in four hospitals. The two most common indications were steroid-dependency and fistulizing Crohn's disease. The median time receiving tacrolimus was 11 months. In 12 patients the treatment was stopped. The main reasons for drug withdrawal were absence or loss of response. The median clinical follow-up was 35.5 months. Overall, a 25% achieved clinical remission and 40% were in partial response. Biologic-naïve patients demonstrated a significantly better remission rate as compared with those that were not (80 vs. 7%). Patients who achieved remission were more likely to have a significant reduction in C-reactive protein values 1 month after starting the drug. Seven patients required surgery during the follow- up period. Conclusions: Patients naïve to biologics showed a significantly better response to tacrolimus. A reduction in C-reactive protein one month after starting this drug was associated with clinical remission.