Follow up Study about Health-Related Quality of Life in Injury Patients

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to assess healthrelated quality of life (HRQOL), to compare HRQOL of 3 months after injury with 10 days after injury, and to offer the result of this study to basic data of HRQOL in Korean patients with injury. METHODS: Between November 1, 2003, and March 2, 2004, 100 eligible injury patients who had visited emergency center were enrolled in the study. HRQOL was measured by Korean EuroQol 5 dimensions (KEQ-5D), and assessed in 10 days and 3 months after injury. The severity of injury was measured by Injury Severity Score (ISS). RESULTS: Of the 100 subjects, 54 (54%) were men and 46 (46%) were women, with mean (+/-SD) age of 43.7 (+/-15.2) and mean ISS (+/-SD) of 4.45 (+/-4.38). The KEQ-5D utility index and 5 subdimensional scores of 3 months after injury were significantly higher than those of 10 days after injury. The KEQ-5D utility indexes of 3 months after injury of each group by the ISS, age, sex, educational status and marrital status had significant higher than those of 10 days after injury. CONCLUSION: In this study, we observed that HRLOQ in patients with 3 months after injury was higher than those with 10 days after injury. However, to define the more definite feature of HRLOQ in patients with injury, the study with more and large epidemiologic controlled injury group and detailed variable adjustment should be done.