The St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire as a prognostic factor in IPF

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology
• Clinical Medicine
• Health Outcomes Research

Background:

• Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive lung disease with unclear prognostic factors.
• The predictive value of health-related quality of life (HRQL) for mortality in IPF remains uncertain.
• Assessing HRQL may offer insights into IPF patient survival.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between HRQL, measured by the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), and survival time in IPF patients.
• To identify a clinically meaningful cutoff value for SGRQ scores to predict poorer survival rates in IPF.
• To determine if HRQL is an independent predictor of mortality in IPF.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 182 consecutive IPF patients evaluated between May 2007 and December 2012.
• Diagnosis of IPF confirmed according to 2011 international consensus guidelines.
• Cox proportional hazard models used to identify independent predictors of mortality.

Main Results:

• Multivariate analysis identified SGRQ total score (HR 1.012) and percent predicted FVC (HR 0.957) as independent predictors of mortality.
• A SGRQ total score > 30 was associated with a significantly higher mortality rate (HR 2.047).
• Average patient age was 66 years, with 86% males; mean SGRQ score was 34 points.

Conclusions:

• The St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) total score is an independent prognostic factor in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
• SGRQ total scores exceeding 30 points are linked to increased mortality risk in IPF patients.
• HRQL assessment, particularly SGRQ scores, can aid in predicting survival outcomes for IPF.