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Miscellaneous Complications

Validation of self-reported complications by bone marrow transplantation survivors

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 25, pages 1191–1196 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

Self-administered questionnaires are commonly used to measure exposures and outcomes in epidemiological research and thus need good validity. With increasing numbers of cancer survivors, there is interest in the ongoing assessment of therapy-related complications. A medical record validation of patient-reported complications following bone marrow transplantation (BMT) was performed using a self-administered questionnaire. The study population consisted of 100 patients who had undergone BMT at the City of Hope. The following self-reported complications were validated using medical records: ocular, endocrine, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, neurological, graft-versus-host disease, and subsequent cancers. Using information from medical records as the standard, sensitivities ranged from 52.9% for subsequent cancers to 100% for avascular necrosis and hypothyroidism. Specificities ranged from 75.4% for ocular complications to 100% for avascular necrosis. There was intermediate to excellent agreement (kappa = 0.4–1.0) for all complications evaluated. Thus, the agreement between self-reporting and medical records was good for complications with clear diagnostic criteria that are easily communicated to the patient, but was diminished for complications with non-established diagnostic criteria (xerophthalmia) or a fluctuating course (peripheral neuropathies and hypertension). Overall these results suggest that cancer survivors can self-report serious complications with an acceptable level of accuracy in epidemiological research. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2000) 25, 1191–1196.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by grants CA 30206, CA 33572 from the National Cancer Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Divisions of Pediatrics, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA

    AD Louie, M Bogue, S Hyde & S Bhatia

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Epidemiology/Clinical Research, University of Minnesota Cancer Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    LL Robison

  3. Divisions of Hematology/Bone Marrow Transplantation, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA

    SJ Forman

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  1. AD Louie
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  2. LL Robison
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  3. M Bogue
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  4. S Hyde
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  5. SJ Forman
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  6. S Bhatia
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Louie, A., Robison, L., Bogue, M. et al. Validation of self-reported complications by bone marrow transplantation survivors. Bone Marrow Transplant 25, 1191–1196 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1702419

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