Introduction: The term quality of life has gained increasing importance in the scientific context. This study describes the adaptation of a disease-specific questionnaire developed by Paul Jones et al. in 1991, the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), to the Brazilian language and culture. This questionnaire evaluates the quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and contains three domains (symptoms, activity, and impacts) divided in 76 items. The questionnaire is self-administrated, but it may be read to illiterate persons. Goal: To verify if the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire is a valid tool to measure quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Brazil. Methods: In order to validate the questionnaire in Brazil, it was initially translated into Portuguese and afterwards a back-translation into English, that was compared to the original version. A final Portuguese version was then written. This final version was, then, answered by 30 clinically stable COPD patients, according to the spirometry and oximetry values. Patients answered the questionnaire twice, within a 15 day interval. The length of time the patients took to answer the questionnaire and their doubts were noted. Wilcoxon test was used for the calculation of r probability between every single question between the two days; interclass correlation ratio was calculated to test the trustworthiness and reliability of the questionnaire. Results: Among the 30 participant patients, 10 were female and 20 were male. Mean age was 65.9 years. Most of the patients were found to be in stage 2 (56.7 %) of COPD, according to the American Thoracic Society classification. The interclass correlation ratio for the total score of the questionnaire was a = 0.79 and Wilcoxon p = 0.2110 (not statistically significant). The mean answering time for the two days of interview was, respectively, 11 minutes and 50 seconds and 10 minutes and 31 seconds. As concerns the doubts about the questions, the patients reported difficulties in answering Sections 4 and 5, each one of these questions written in a negative form. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the Brazilian version of the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool to measure quality of life in patients with COPD in Brazil.

Keywords: obstructive lung diseases, questionnaire, quality of life, reproducibility of results, evolution studies

Review Article

5 - Long-acting b2-agonists in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

b2-agonista de longa duração na doença pulmonar obstrutiva crônica (DPOC)

Luiz Eduardo Mendes Campos

J Bras Pneumol.2000;26(3):128-136

Case Report

7 - Granulomatous foreign body reaction simulating chest wall tumor over previous thoracotomy site

Reação granulomatosa do tipo corpo estranho simulando tumor de parede torácica em cicatriz de toracotomia prévia

Amarílio Vieira de Macedo Neto, Alexandre Heitor Moreschi, Antonio Azambuja Neto, Daniela Fedrizzi

J Bras Pneumol.2000;26(3):139-141

8 - Congenital bronchial atresia: report of two cases. Contribution of CT scan to diagnosis

Atresia brônquica congênita: relato de dois casos. Contribuição da tomografia computadorizada ao diagnóstico

Alecsandra Calil Moyses Faure, Ana Paula Andrade Barreto, Carlos Alberto de Castro Pereira, Clystenes Odyr Soares Silva

J Bras Pneumol.2000;26(3):142-144

9 - Pancoast's syndrome caused by lymphoma

Síndrome de Pancoast causada por linfoma

Alla Dolganova, Ana Luíza Schneider Moreira, Marinês Barra, Jose da Silva Moreira

J Bras Pneumol.2000;26(3):145-148

10 - "Pneumocystis carinii" pneumonia: tumoral manifestation

Pneumonia por "Pneumocystis carinii": forma tumoral

Luiz Alberto Costa Barra, Eleni Aparecida Bedaque, Fabio Leoncio Bornstein Martinelli, Audrey Egypto Macedo, Renato Curti Jr., Ricardo Hanna

J Bras Pneumol.2000;26(3):149-152

Upgrading

11 - Recomendações para a prevenção do tromboembolismo venoso

Comissão de Circulação Pulmonar da Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia

J Bras Pneumol.2000;26(3):153-158

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Year 2000 - Volume 26 - Issue 3 (May/June)

Editorial

1 - Asmáticos brasileiros: o tratamento desejado

Original Article

2 - Phenotypic characterization of lymphocyte subsets in bronchoalveolar lavage of patients with silicosis

Caracterização imunofenotípica das subpopulações de linfócitos do lavado broncoalveolar de pacientes com silicose

3 - Surgical treatment of bullae for bullous emphysema: a simple drainage

Tratamento operatório de bolhas no enfisema bolhoso: uma simples drenagem

4 - Validation of the Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Brazil

Validação do Questionário do Hospital Saint George na Doença Respiratória (SGRQ) em pacientes portadores de doença pulmonar obstrutiva crônica no Brasil