Assessment of functional status and quality of life in claudication

Background: Treadmill walking is commonly used to evaluate walking impairment and efficacy of treatment for intermittent claudication (IC) in clinical and research settings. Although this is an important measure, it does not provide information about how patients perceive the effects of their treatments on more global measures of health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Methods: PubMed/Medline was searched to find publications about the most commonly used questionnaires to assess functional status and/or general and disease-specific HRQOL in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) who experience IC. Inclusion criteria for questionnaires were based on existence of a body of literature in symptomatic PAD. Results: Six general questionnaires and seven disease-specific questionnaires are included, with details about the number of domains covered and how each tool is scored. The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36-item questionnaire and Walking Impairment Questionnaire are currently the most used general and disease-specific questionnaires at baseline and after treatment for IC, respectively. Conclusions: The use of tools that assess functional status and HRQOL has importance in both the clinical and research areas to assess treatment efficacy from the patient's perspective. Therefore, assessing HRQOL in addition to treadmill-measured walking ability provides insight as to the effects of treatments on patient outcomes and may help guide therapy.