Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29981577›Full record

Observational studyBMC palliative care2018

Evaluation of the palliative symptom burden score (PSBS) in a specialised palliative care unit of a university medical centre - a longitudinal study.

Katharina Fetz, Hendrik Vogt, Thomas Ostermann, Andrea Schmitz, Christian Schulz-Quach

Abstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in BMC palliative care, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Observational
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Katharina FetzChair of Research Methodology and Statistics in Psychology, Department of Psychology & Psychotherapy, Faculty of Health, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany. Katharina.fetz@uni-wh.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2391-2243
Hendrik VogtInterdisciplinary Centre for Palliative Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Thomas OstermannChair of Research Methodology and Statistics in Psychology, Department of Psychology & Psychotherapy, Faculty of Health, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany.
Andrea SchmitzInterdisciplinary Centre for Palliative Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Christian Schulz-QuachInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience; Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College London, London, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe implementation of standardised, valid and reliable measurements in palliative care is subject to practical and methodological challenges. One aspect of ongoing discussion is the value of systematic proxy-based assessment of symptom burden in palliative care. In 2011, an expert-developed proxy-based instrument for the assessment of symptom burden in palliative patients, the Palliative Symptom Burden Score (PSBS), was implemented at the Specialised Palliative Care Unit of the University Medical Centre in Dusseldorf, Germany. The present study investigated its feasibility, acceptance and psychometric properties.

methodsThe PSBS was rated by nursing staff three times a day over 5 years (N = 820 patients). Feasibility and nurses' acceptance of PSBS were analysed. Structural validity was investigated by principal component analysis. Construct validity was examined via cross-validation with the Hospice and Palliative Care Evaluation checklist. Discriminative validity of the PSBS was analysed by means of Kruskal-Wallis test of patients' performance score. Reliability of the PSBS was evaluated by internal consistency analysis, test-retest and split-half-reliability. Inter-rater reliability was investigated by observer agreement of nurses' ratings of symptom burden within a day. Sensitivity to change was analysed by Wilcoxon test with repeated measures of the PSBS before and after palliative complex treatment.

resultsA high degree of acceptance and the feasibility of a high-frequency proxy-based symptom burden assessment approach were demonstrated. There were low rates of missing values and no indications of the adoption of prior ratings. PSBS in its present form demonstrates good structural and construct validity (r

conclusionsThe study presents a framework for the post hoc validation of an already existing documentation tool in palliative care. This study supports the notion that PSBS might not be reflective of an overall construct and will therefore require further development and critical comparison to other already established symptom burden instruments in palliative care.

Indexed as

Academic Medical CentersAgedCohort StudiesCost of IllnessFemaleGermanyHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedPalliative CarePsychometricsReproducibility of ResultsSeverity of Illness IndexSurveys and QuestionnairesSymptom AssessmentFactor analysisPalliative carePhysical symptomsPrincipal component analysisProxy-based assessmentPsychological symptomsPsychometric evaluationReliability analysisSensitivitySymptom burden assessmentTerminal careValidity

Identifiers

PMID29981577
PMCPMC6035799

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.