Search

Background and Objectives: Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) is an important health outcome measure in haemophilia. The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Greek version of Haem-A-QoL, a disease-specific questionnaire for haemophiliacs., Methods: Haem-A-QoL and SF-36 were administered to 118 adult haemophilia patients. Hypothesized scale structure, internal consistency (Cronbach's α ), and test-retest reliability, as well as various types of construct validity were evaluated., Results: Scale structure of Haem-A-QoL was confirmed, with good item convergence (87%) and discrimination (80.6%) rates. Cronbach's α was >0.70 for all but one dimension (dealing) and test-retest reliability was significantly high. The strength of Spearman's correlations between Haem-A-QoL and SF-36 scales ranged from 0.25 to 0.75 (P < 0.01). Multiple stepwise linear regression analysis revealed that all but one Haem-A-QoL dimensions were important predictors of SF-36 scales. Known-groups comparisons yielded consistent support of the instruments' construct validity and significant relationships were identified for age, educational level, haemophilia type, disease severity, and viral infections., Conclusion: Overall, the psychometric properties of the Greek version of Haem-A-QoL, resulting from this first time administration of the instrument to Greek adult haemophiliacs, confirmed it as a reliable and valid questionnaire for assessing haemophilia-specific HRQoL in Greece.

The use of sensitive nucleic acid testing for hepatitis B virus in blood donors revealed a number of HBV DNA(+) cases among HBsAg(-) donors, a status known as occult HBV infection. The purpose of this study was the serological and molecular characterization of occult HBV infection in Greek blood donors. A prospective study was undertaken in order to identify occult HBV infection cases in blood donors. As part of the routine screening of blood donations in Greece, blood units were screened individually by a multiplex HIV-1/HCV/HBV nucleic acid assay. Initially reactive samples were retested with discriminatory assays. HBV DNA(+)/HBsAg(-) samples were tested further for HBV serological markers and HBV DNA was quantified by real-time PCR. Molecular characterization was performed by sequencing the envelope and polymerase genes of HBV. Preliminary screening revealed 21 occult cases with the following patterns: anti-HBc only: 7 donors, anti-HBc/anti-HBs: 7 donors, anti-HBc/anti-HBe: 5 donors, anti-HBc/anti-HBs/anti-HBe: 2 donors. In all cases, the HBV DNA load was <351 IU/ml. Sequencing was successful in 10 donors (classified within genotype D) revealing several amino acid substitutions related to diagnostic escape and antiviral resistance. HBsAg diagnostic failure and low viral replication in occult HBV infection carriers could possibly be attributed to multiple changes in envelope and polymerase regions, respectively., (Copyright 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)