USE OF A NEW INSTRUMENT TO ASSESS HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN CHILDREN 0-3 YEARS OF AGE DURING HOSPITALIZATION DUE TO ROTAVIRUS GASTROENTERITIS IN THE US
Author(s)
Cristina Carias, PhD1, Doug Altenweg, BSBA2, Jaime G. Deville, MD3, Janine Verstraete, PhD4, Jae S. Min, PhD5, Krow Ampofo, MD6, Lisa Saiman, MD, MPH7, Marian G. Michaels, MD, MPH8, Mary Staat, MD, MPH8, Mike Herdman, MSc9, Morgan Eaton, BSc10.
1Merck, Rahway, NJ, USA, 2Oracle Life Sciences, Austin, TX, USA, 3David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 4University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa, 5Merck, West Point, PA, USA, 6University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, UT, USA, 7New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, Columbia University, NY, New York City, NY, USA, 8University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, 9Insight Consulting & Research, Barcelona, Spain, 10ORACLE LIFE SCIENCES, Austin, TX, USA.
1Merck, Rahway, NJ, USA, 2Oracle Life Sciences, Austin, TX, USA, 3David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 4University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa, 5Merck, West Point, PA, USA, 6University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, UT, USA, 7New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, Columbia University, NY, New York City, NY, USA, 8University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, 9Insight Consulting & Research, Barcelona, Spain, 10ORACLE LIFE SCIENCES, Austin, TX, USA.
OBJECTIVES: Few instruments are available to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in young children. This prospective, observational study assessed, for the first time, the responsiveness and acceptability of the experimental EuroQol Toddler and Infant Populations Quality of Life instrument version 2.0 (EQ-TIPS) in patients ≤3 years-old hospitalized with rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE).
METHODS: Data were collected in five US hospitals from February, 2023 to June, 2025 from caregivers of children ≤3 years old hospitalized with RVGE. The EQ-TIPS questionnaire was administered to caregivers to assess the HRQOL of their children within 48 hours of admission (RVGE episode) and again after discharge (base state). After completing the EQ-TIPS, a subset of caregivers was asked about their views on the acceptability and usefulness of EQ-TIPS.
RESULTS: Thirty-five caregivers (mean age [SD] 32.4 [5.16] years; 88.6% female), one per patient, were administered the EQ-TIPS to assess the HRQOL of their child (1.40 [0.81] years old; 48.6% female) during the RVGE hospitalization episode. Two caregivers were lost to follow-up after discharge. Across all dimensions of the EQ-TIPS (“movement”, “playing”, “pain”, “social interaction”, “communication”, “eating”) there were significant (p≤0.01) differences between the RVGE episode and base state (i.e. after symptom resolution), demonstrating good responsiveness. The largest differences were in the “playing”, “pain”, and “eating” dimensions. Problems with play (57.1%), pain (74.3%) or eating (74.3%) were reported during the RVGE hospitalization, compared to 0%, 9.1%, and 21.2% after discharge, respectively. The overall Visual Analog Score for EQ-TIPS was 60.63 (23.67) during the episode, which significantly (p≤0.01) improved to 88.70 (9.03) after discharge. Most (10/15) caregivers thought the EQ-TIPS content was easy to understand and relevant to patients with RVGE.
CONCLUSIONS: RVGE hospitalization impacted HRQOL as measured by the EQ-TIPS. EQ-TIPS showed responsiveness and was a useful and acceptable tool to assess HRQOL in children ≤3 years old hospitalized with RVGE.
METHODS: Data were collected in five US hospitals from February, 2023 to June, 2025 from caregivers of children ≤3 years old hospitalized with RVGE. The EQ-TIPS questionnaire was administered to caregivers to assess the HRQOL of their children within 48 hours of admission (RVGE episode) and again after discharge (base state). After completing the EQ-TIPS, a subset of caregivers was asked about their views on the acceptability and usefulness of EQ-TIPS.
RESULTS: Thirty-five caregivers (mean age [SD] 32.4 [5.16] years; 88.6% female), one per patient, were administered the EQ-TIPS to assess the HRQOL of their child (1.40 [0.81] years old; 48.6% female) during the RVGE hospitalization episode. Two caregivers were lost to follow-up after discharge. Across all dimensions of the EQ-TIPS (“movement”, “playing”, “pain”, “social interaction”, “communication”, “eating”) there were significant (p≤0.01) differences between the RVGE episode and base state (i.e. after symptom resolution), demonstrating good responsiveness. The largest differences were in the “playing”, “pain”, and “eating” dimensions. Problems with play (57.1%), pain (74.3%) or eating (74.3%) were reported during the RVGE hospitalization, compared to 0%, 9.1%, and 21.2% after discharge, respectively. The overall Visual Analog Score for EQ-TIPS was 60.63 (23.67) during the episode, which significantly (p≤0.01) improved to 88.70 (9.03) after discharge. Most (10/15) caregivers thought the EQ-TIPS content was easy to understand and relevant to patients with RVGE.
CONCLUSIONS: RVGE hospitalization impacted HRQOL as measured by the EQ-TIPS. EQ-TIPS showed responsiveness and was a useful and acceptable tool to assess HRQOL in children ≤3 years old hospitalized with RVGE.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-05, ISPOR 2026, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue S6
Code
PCR84
Topic
Patient-Centered Research
Topic Subcategory
Patient-reported Outcomes & Quality of Life Outcomes
Disease
SDC: Gastrointestinal Disorders