The BAS-G
is essentially an objective way of asking the question:
“How
have you been over the last x months?”
Jones
et al (1996) argue that the BAS-G reflects the effect of AS on the
patients well being.
The BAS-G
consists of two questions which ask patients’ to indicate, on
a 10cm visual analog scale, the effect the disease has had on their
well being over the
......– last week
......– last six months.
The mean
of the two scores gives a BAS-G score of 0 – 10 (refer to page
13). The higher the score, the greater the perceived effect of the
disease on the patient’s well being.
With
a sample of 177 inpatients and 215 patients reached by a postal survey,
the authors found that:
- BAS-G
scores covered the whole 0 – 10 scale for both time frames
(1 week & 6 months).
- BAS-G
correlated well with both BASDAI and BASFI.
This suggests that disease activity and functional ability play
a major role in patients’ well being – more than metrology.
- Of
the 5 BASDAI items, spinal pain followed by fatigue correlated best
with BAS-G. This highlights the importance of pain and fatigue to
the patient.
- BAS-G
demonstrated statistically significant (p<0.001) sensitivity
to change.
...................................(Jones
et al, 1996)
The authors
acknowledged that BAS-G cannot stand alone, and should be one element
of a complete assessment. However, an index of this type provides
a numerical value to the patient’s sense of well being. This
allows for comparison between consultations, especially when patients
may not necessarily be seen by the same clinician on each occasion.
The
authors conclude that they have formalized and validated a simple
question frequently asked (Jones et al, 1996).
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