Main Article

Less is more, or almost as much: A 15-item quality-of-life instrument for myasthenia gravis

  1. Ted M. Burns MD1,*,
  2. Mark R. Conaway PhD2,
  3. Gary R. Cutter PhD3,
  4. Donald B. Sanders MD4

Article first published online: 18 JUL 2008

DOI: 10.1002/mus.21053

Issue

Muscle & Nerve

Muscle & Nerve

Volume 38, Issue 2, pages 957–963, August 2008

Additional Information

How to Cite

Burns, T. M., Conaway, M. R., Cutter, G. R. and Sanders, D. B. (2008), Less is more, or almost as much: A 15-item quality-of-life instrument for myasthenia gravis. Muscle Nerve, 38: 957–963. doi: 10.1002/mus.21053

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Neurology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, P.O. Box 800394, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, USA

  2. 2

    Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

  3. 3

    Department of Biostatistics, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA

  4. 4

    Division of Neurology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA

*Department of Neurology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, P.O. Box 800394, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, USA

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 28 JUL 2008
  2. Article first published online: 18 JUL 2008
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 2 APR 2008

Funded by

  • Orphan Products Development Program of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Grant Number: FD-R-002154-01
  • F. Hoffmann–La Roche. Ltd. (Roche). Grant Number: CEL248
  • Aspreva Pharmaceuticals
  • General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) of the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health. Grant Numbers: MO1 RR00044, M01-RR00034, M01-RR-01346

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Keywords:

  • evaluative instrument;
  • myasthenia gravis;
  • outcome measure;
  • quality of life

Abstract

We describe the process whereby a recently developed myasthenia gravis (MG)-specific quality-of-life (QOL) instrument was reduced from 60 items to 15 items while maintaining potential usefulness in the clinic and in prospective treatment trials. In data from a recently completed prospective trial of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in MG, the MG-QOL15 correlated as highly as the 60-item MG-QOL for physical and social domains of the 36-item health survey of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36). Correlation coefficients for the MG-QOL15 were similar to the 60-item MG-QOL for the Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis (QMG), MG-specific Manual Muscle Testing (MG-MMT), and the MG-specific Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) scores at week 0 and for change in scores from week 0 to week 12 in the MMF trial. Using the physician global impression at week 12 of the trial as the “gold standard,” the MG-QOL15 demonstrated high sensitivity. Because the MG-QOL15 instrument can be quickly and easily administered and interpreted, it is a potential QOL measure for treatment trials and the clinical evaluation of patients with MG. Muscle Nerve, 2008

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