OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate whether the EQ-5D-5L survey was sensitive enough to measure changes in quality of life among patients with acute uncomplicated vivax malaria from time of diagnosis to recovery after treatment (day 21).

METHODS: The EQ-5D-5L instrument was used alongside an ongoing clinical trial for vivax malaria patients in Indonesia and Cambodia at three-time points: day 0 when they were acutely sick, day 21, and 6 months after treatment. We valued health states with local value sets to get an index score. A linear regression was performed to assess the change in mean utility index score between time points.

RESULTS: A total of 176 patients from Cambodia and 149 patients from Indonesia were enrolled in this study. At day 0, over half of the patients in Cambodia reported pain/discomfort (75%), problems with usual activities (65%), and mobility (54%), while only 27% experienced problems in self-care and anxiety. For Indonesia, 75% of patients reported pain/discomfort, but less than half reported issues with usual activities (48%), mobility (32%), anxiety/depression (26%), and self-care (13%). The mean index score at day 0 (standard deviation) in Indonesia was 0.816 (± 0.147), which increased to 0.985 (± 0.052) at day 21, then 0.997 (± 0.015) at 6 months. The mean index scores in Cambodia during the same time points were 0.814 (± 0.174), 0.946 (± 0.123), and 0.993 (± 0.038). Linear regression showed a significant difference between the mean index score at baseline (day 0) and both follow-up time points (p-value <0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first analysis to evaluate the EQ-5D instrument in a population with vivax malaria. We found significant changes in quality of life from the day of vivax malaria presentation to recovery. The EQ-5D-5L instrument is sensitive to capture differences in quality of life for these populations.