Health-related Quality of Life in Pediatric Patients With Long-standing Pancreatitis

Objectives: There are limited data on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in pediatric patients with long-standing pancreatitis (including acute relapsing and chronic pancreatitis) using age-appropriate measurement instruments. Methods: We evaluated HRQOL in children with long-standing pancreatitis using the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales by patient self-report as well as parent proxy report. Additionally, patient self-reports and parent proxy reports were completed for the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale. Results: Across all of the dimensions, significantly impaired HRQOL and higher fatigue were noted for both pediatric patient self-report and parent proxy report in comparison with the matched healthy children samples. Higher fatigue was associated with lower HRQOL. There was moderate to good agreement between patient self-reports and parent proxy reports. Conclusions: Given the impaired HRQOL and fatigue documented in the present study, future studies are needed to determine whether specific factors can modify HRQOL and fatigue in this patient population.