Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2003 Mar;98(3):630-8.
doi: 10.1111/j.1572-0241.2003.07332.x.

Health-state utilities and quality of life in hepatitis C patients

Christopher A K Y Chong  1 , Anar Gulamhussein, E Jenny Heathcote, Les Lilly, Morris Sherman, Gary Naglie, Murray Krahn
Affiliations

Health-state utilities and quality of life in hepatitis C patients

Christopher A K Y Chong et al. Am J Gastroenterol. 2003 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: Health-state utilities are global measurements of quality of life on a scale from 0 (death) to 1 (full health). Utilities are used to evaluate health outcomes and are the preferred outcome measure for policy models that determine the cost-effectiveness of treatments. Currently, utilities for hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients have been estimated using expert judgments. The purpose of this study was to elicit HCV utilities directly from patients.

Methods: We assessed the utilities of 193 outpatients at various stages of chronic HCV progression by using a visual analog scale, the standard gamble technique, the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 survey, and the EuroQol Index survey. We also incorporated the nonutility-based Short Form-36v2 survey, which provides a detailed profile of health status.

Results: The mean standard gamble utilities were: 0.78 for patients without a recent liver biopsy and no signs of cirrhosis; 0.79 for mild to moderate chronic HCV infection; 0.80 for compensated cirrhosis; 0.60 for decompensated cirrhosis; 0.72 for hepatocellular carcinoma; 0.73 for transplant; and 0.86 for sustained virological responders to interferon +/- ribavirin treatment. The Health Utilities Index Mark 3 survey and the EuroQol Index survey utilities were lower than Canadian population norms (p < 0.001). Patient-elicited utilities were lower than previous expert estimates for mild/moderate chronic infection and sustained virological responders, but higher for decompensated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The Short Form-36v2 survey scores revealed several significant health impairments (p < 0.005) when compared with U.S. population norms.

Conclusions: These findings 1) suggest that quality of life (QOL) differences across the HCV clinical spectrum are smaller than previously believed; 2) support other evidence suggesting that QOL is significantly diminished in HCV patients; and 3) provide utility values derived directly from HCV patients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Publication types