Crystal Beaumont

The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System: a 15-year retrospective review of validation studies (1991–2006)

Introduction: The purpose of this review was to identify and critique validation studies focusing on the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS), a commonly used symptom assessment tool for advanced cancer and palliative patients. Methods: Using a comprehensive literature search, the authors identified and screened 87 publications. Thirteen articles were selected for in-depth review, based on the following inclusion criteria: psychometric studies with a primary focus on the ESAS, 1991–2006 publication dates and peer-reviewed English language publications. Results: Most studies involved cancer patients (n = 11). The ESAS format varied across studies, in terms of scale format, item number, item selection and language. Studies focused on gathering reliability estimates (n = 8), content validity evidence (n = 1), concurrent validity evidence (n = 5), predictive validity evidence (n = 1), and sensitivity and/or specificity (n = 3). None of these studies involved patients’ perspectives as a source of validity evidence. Discussion: The use of varying instrument formats and limited psychometric evidence support the need for further ESAS validation studies, including the involvement of patients.

The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, a proposed tool for distress screening in cancer patients: development and refinement

The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) has been proposed as one element of a distress screening strategy in cancer patients. It consists of 11‐point numerical rating scales for self‐report of nine common symptoms of cancer, with a 10th scale for a patient‐specific symptom. The ESAS has undergone widespread adoption internationally for clinical, research and administrative purposes. Despite its rapid uptake, validity evidence has lagged behind, and concerns have been raised about feasibility and usefulness. The objective of this paper is to provide a synthesis of a program of research focusing on the psychometric properties of the ESAS.

Severe muscle depletion predicts postoperative length of stay but is not associated with survival after liver transplantation: Sarcopenia After Liver Transplantation

Muscle depletion or sarcopenia is associated with increased mortality in patients with cirrhosis; how it affects mortality after liver transplantation requires further study. In this study, we aimed to establish whether sarcopenia predicts increased morbidity or mortality after liver transplantation. We analyzed 248 patients with cirrhosis who had a computed tomography (CT) scan including the third lumbar vertebra before liver transplantation. Data were recovered from medical charts, the skeletal muscle cross‐sectional area was measured with CT, and sarcopenia was defined with previously published sex‐ and body mass index–specific cutoffs. One hundred sixty‐nine patients (68%) were male, and the mean age at transplantation was 55 ± 1 years. The etiologies of cirrhosis were hepatitis C virus (51%), alcohol (19%), autoimmune liver diseases (15%), hepatitis B virus (8%), and other etiologies (7%). Sarcopenia was present in 112 patients (45%), and it was more frequent in males (P = 0.002), patients with ascites (P = 0.02), and patients with higher bilirubin levels (P = 0.05), creatinine levels (P = 0.02), international normalized ratios (P = 0.04), Child‐Pugh scores (P = 0.002), and Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease scores (P = 0.002). The median survival period after liver transplantation was 117 ± 17 months for sarcopenic patients and 146 ± 20 months for nonsarcopenic patients (P = 0.4). Sarcopenic patients had longer hospital stays (40 ± 4 versus 25 ± 3 days; P = 0.005) and a higher frequency of bacterial infections within the first 90 days after liver transplantation (26% versus 15%, P = 0.04) in comparison with nonsarcopenic patients. In conclusion, sarcopenia is one of the most common complications in patients with cirrhosis and is predictive of longer hospital stays and a higher risk of perioperative bacterial infections after liver transplantation, but it is not associated with increased mortality. Liver Transpl 20:640–648, 2014.

The Edmonton symptom assessment system—what do patients think?

Goals of workThe Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) is a tool for self-reporting of symptom intensity, initially developed for advanced cancer patients. It consists of numerical rating scales for nine common symptoms, with the option of adding a tenth. Despite its widespread use in palliative care, few studies have focused on its psychometric properties, with none involving patient perspectives. The purpose of this study was to gather validity evidence for the ESAS, by examining patients’ cognitive processes while completing the ESAS, understanding of terminology and numerical ratings, and opinions of the ESAS as a self-reporting tool.Materials and methodsEnglish-speaking advanced cancer patients, referred to a Pain and Symptom Control Consultation Service in a cancer centre, were recruited. Using a qualitative “think aloud” study design, patients completed the ESAS independently while being prompted to verbalize their thoughts. They then answered a structured questionnaire to elicit their opinions of the ESAS. Transcripts of audio-taped sessions were coded and analyzed.Main resultsTwenty patients were evaluable. Symptom ratings were influenced by current symptom profiles, temporal changes, symptom experience history and individual perceptions. Symptom interpretation and numerical rating assignments varied. Difficult terminology included tiredness versus drowsiness, depression, anxiety, appetite, and well-being. Most patients agreed with the item order and thought that the ESAS was easy to complete, with a health care professional present. Patients expressed a need to emphasize the timeframe as “now”.ConclusionModification of the tool and administration process may be warranted, but further study in other populations is needed.

Sarcopenic obesity and myosteatosis are associated with higher mortality in patients with cirrhosis

Obesity is frequently associated with cirrhosis, and cirrhotic patients may develop simultaneous loss of skeletal muscle and gain of adipose tissue, culminating in the condition of sarcopenic obesity. Additionally, muscle depletion is characterized by both a reduction in muscle size and increased proportion of muscular fat, termed myosteatosis. In this study, we aimed to establish the frequency and clinical significance of sarcopenia, sarcopenic obesity and myosteatosis in cirrhotic patients.

Inclusion of Sarcopenia Within MELD (MELD-Sarcopenia) and the Prediction of Mortality in Patients With Cirrhosis

OBJECTIVES:Limitations of the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score include its failure to assess the nutritional and functional status of cirrhotic patients. Our objectives were to evaluate the impact of sarcopenia in cirrhosis and whether the inclusion of muscularity assessment within MELD could improve the prediction of mortality in patients with cirrhosis.METHODS:We included 669 cirrhotic patients who were consecutively evaluated for liver transplantation. Skeletal muscle index at the third lumbar vertebra (L3 SMI) was measured by computed tomography, and sarcopenia was defined using previously published gender and body mass index–specific cutoffs. Using Cox proportional hazards regression, a novel MELD-sarcopenia score was derived.RESULTS:Sarcopenia was present in 298 patients (45%); sarcopenic patients had shorter median survival than non-sarcopenic patients (20±3 vs. 95±24 months, P<0.001). By Cox regression analysis adjusted for age, gender, and hepatocellular carcinoma, both MELD (hazard ratio (HR) 1.08, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06–1.10, P<0.001), and the L3 SMI (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.96–0.99, P<0.001) were associated with mortality. Overall, the c-statistics for 3-month mortality were 0.82 (95% CI 0.78–0.87) for MELD and 0.85 (95% CI 0.81–0.88) for MELD-sarcopenia (P=0.1). Corresponding figures for 1-year mortality were 0.73 (95% CI 0.69–0.77) and 0.77 (95% CI 0.73–0.80), respectively (P=0.03). The c-statistics for 3-month mortality in patients with MELD<15 (0.85 vs. 0.69, P=0.02) and refractory ascites (0.74 vs. 0.71, P=0.01) were significantly higher for MELD-sarcopenia compared with MELD.CONCLUSIONS:Modification of MELD to include sarcopenia is associated with improved prediction of mortality in patients with cirrhosis, primarily in patients with low MELD scores. External validation of this prognostic index in larger cohorts of cirrhotic patients is warranted.

Severe muscle depletion predicts postoperative length of stay but is not associated with survival after liver transplantation.

We thank Drs. Clark and Cross for their interest in our study and will respond to their comments. We agree that one limitation of our study is that only patients who went on to receive liver transplantation were included, and patients who could have had sarcopenia might not have been listed. However, none of our patients evaluated for liver transplantation have been rejected solely on the basis of sarcopenia. The current evidence suggests that only “extreme sarcopenia,” previously defined differently as the lowest tertile of the total psoas area (TPA), the lowest quartile of the TPA, or the lowest sextile of the third lumbar skeletal muscle index, should be considered a contraindication for liver transplantation. On the other hand, in our cohort of patients, all underwent a nutritional evaluation as part of the liver transplant assessment with advice about increasing protein intake and leucine supplementation, but none of them had nasogastric or nasoenteral feeding. We normally used nasogastric or nasoenteral feeding only for those patients with a body mass index less than 18.5 kg/m because this has been shown to be a risk factor for mortality after liver transplantation, but none of the patients in this cohort had a body mass index below this threshold. Finally, because current methods used to assess liver disease severity, such as the Model for EndStage Liver Disease (MELD) score, do not give a functional assessment of the patient’s fitness, we believe that the next step is to evaluate the development of composite scores, including new scores such as MELD-sarcopenia and MELD-psoas, or to assign exemption points to those patients with sarcopenia so that they can undergo transplantation before they develop extreme sarcopenia. Nevertheless, this issue should be evaluated preferentially in prospective and multicenter controlled clinical trials.

Correlates of objectively measured sedentary behavior in cancer patients with brain metastases: an application of the theory of planned behavior.

The aim of this study is to examine the demographic, medical, and social‐cognitive correlates of objectively measured sedentary behavior in advanced cancer patients with brain metastases.

Correlates of objectively measured sedentary behavior in cancer patients with brain metastases

The aim of this study is to examine the demographic, medical, and social‐cognitive correlates of objectively measured sedentary behavior in advanced cancer patients with brain metastases.

Correlates of objectively measured sedentary behavior in cancer patients with brain metastases: an application of the theory of planned behavior: Physical activity, brain metastases, and theory of planned behavior

The aim of this study is to examine the demographic, medical, and social‐cognitive correlates of objectively measured sedentary behavior in advanced cancer patients with brain metastases.