Clinical and psychometric validation of the quality of life assessment system for advanced gastric cancer based on traditional Chinese medicine / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish questionnaire scaling and reliability and examine the clinical and psychometric validity of the quality of life assessment based on Traditional Chinese Medicine for advanced gastric cancer (QLASTCM-Ga).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The QLASTCM-Ga was developed based on programmed decision procedures with multiple nominal and focus group discussions, in-depth interview, pretesting and quantitative statistical procedures. The questionnaire was administered to 240 patients diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer before and after treatment. Structured group methods were employed to establish a general and a specifific module respectively. The psychometric properties of the scale were evaluated with respect to validity, reliability and responsiveness.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The three identified scales of the QLASTCM-Ga and the total score demonstrated good psychometric properties. Test-retest reliability of the total scale and all domains ranged from 0.90 to 0.94, and internal consistency ranged from 0.86 to 0.93. Correlation and factor analysis demonstrated good construct validity. Signifificant difference in the subscales and the total score were found among groups differing in traditional Chinese medicine syndrome, supporting the clinical sensitivity of the QLASTCM-Ga. Statistically signifificant changes were found for each scale and the total score. Responsiveness was also good.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The QLASTCM-Ga demonstrates good psychometric and clinical validity to assess quality of life in patients with advanced gastric cancer undergoing traditional Chinese medicine therapy. This study is an important fifirst step for future research in this area.</p>

Reflection on development of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine / 中国中西医结合杂志

After half a century of self-innovation, the integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine has witnessed the great progress in both clinical and basic research. However, the theoretical system of the integrative medicine does not break through the limitations of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, which hinders its implication in experimental study and clinical work. In view of the current situation, to develop the integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine further, efforts should be made in such aspects as educational system construction, talent personnel training, improving the level of clinical practice and corresponding basic research as well as the establishing the basic theoretical system.