Impact of pain and functional impairment in US adults with haemophilia: Patient-reported outcomes and musculoskeletal evaluation in the pain, functional impairment and quality of life (P-FiQ) study

Abstract

Introduction: Standardized and disease-specific patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments assessing pain, functional impairment and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with haemophilia (PWH) have been used in studies, but infrequently in comprehensive care settings for individual assessment or treatment planning.

Aim: To assess the impact of pain and functional impairment on HRQoL in PWH.

Methods: P-FiQ enrolled 381 adult PWH with a history of joint pain/bleeding and included 5 PROs and a clinical joint evaluation (Hemophilia Joint Health Score v2.1 [HJHS]).

Results: Median age was 34 years; 49.9% reported a history of joint procedure or surgery. On EQ-5D-5L, most reported problems with mobility (61.4%), usual activities (53.2%) and pain/discomfort (76.1%). On Brief Pain Inventory v2 Short Form, median worst pain (range 0-10) was 6, least pain 1, average pain 3 and current pain 2. Ankles were most frequently reported as the most painful joints (37.4%), followed by knees (23.7%) and elbows (18.9%). On International Physical Activity Questionnaire, 51% reported no activity in the prior week. On SF-36v2 health survey, median subscores were worse for 4 physical health domains vs 4 mental health domains. Among Hemophilia Activities List domains (range 0 [worst]-100 [best]), functions of the legs (median, 66.7) and lying/sitting/kneeling/standing (median, 67.5) were most impacted and self-care least impacted (median, 100.0). On HJHS, ankle scores (median, 6.0; range, 0-40) were worse than elbow/knee scores (median, 4.0/4.0). Results were consistent across PROs/HJHS.

Conclusion: Data demonstrate challenges of predominantly ankle/knee pain and lower extremity functional impairment in US adult PWH, affecting HRQoL across PROs/HJHS.

Keywords: functional impairment; haemophilia; joint health; pain; patient-reported outcome; quality of life.