Quality of life in patients with Barrett's esophagus undergoing surveillance

Practice guidelines recommend surveillance for Barrett's esophagus (BE) because of the risk of esophageal cancer. The quality of life of patients undergoing surveillance is unknown. The objectives of this study were to develop a new utility instrument to measure quality of life of patients undergoing BE surveillance and determine if Quality of Life in Reflux and Dyspepsia (QOLRD) scores correlate with utility ratings.

Fifteen patients were administered 16 scenarios describing possible BE surveillance outcomes. Each scenario was rated from 0 (equivalent to being dead) to 10 (equivalent to being in perfect health). Each patient also completed the QOLRD, a validated instrument. A t test was performed to compare the QOLRD means with published means. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was calculated for the median QOLRD score and the median utility rating.

QOLRD means ranged from 5.80 to 6.65 (previously published means 4.3-5.4). Lower scores denoted a worsened quality of life. The difference was significant (p < 0.001). The correlation coefficient of median QOLRD score (6.8) and median utility rating (4.0) was 0.10 (p = 0.71).

This population of BE patients had significantly higher QOLRD scores than a previously published population referred for endoscopy. Quality of life using the utility measure was reduced. The utility measure did not correlate with the disease-specific instrument, suggesting that the concerns of patients undergoing surveillance are distinct from their reflux symptoms.