Usefulness of the Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) Questionnaire in Dupuytren's Disease: A Prospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: Dupuytren's Disease (DD) is a fibroproliferative disease which affects the hands and can produce progressive and irreversible flexion contractures. Collagenase Clostridium histolyticum (CCH) is a minimallyinvasive treatment option for it. Hand function and patient´s satisfaction were commonly measured by the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) questionnaire. The Spanish QuickDASH is the only validated Spanish region-specific questionnaire can be employed for the clinical assessment of patients with pathologies of the hand, such as Dupuytren's Disease. The aim of the study was to determine the usefulness of the abbreviated Spanish version of the QuickDASH, as an effective tool for evaluation of Dupuytren's disease treatment outcomes and their correlation with objective outcomes measuring improvement in residual contracture following treatment. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study from April 2016 to June 2017 involving the selection of patients from three different hospitals. The measurement of the clinical results was made by calculating the difference between prior and post-treatment degrees of contraction (Thomine´s coefficient) and QuickDASH questionnaire was self-administered by patients pre- and post-treatment. Results: 46 patients (66.1 ± 1.1 years) completed the study. The mean correction for the metacarpophalangeal joint was -26.67 degrees (p<0.001) and -23.39 degrees for the proximal interphalangeal joint. The mean change in QuickDASH score was 8.88 (p<0.001) at a mean 34.6-day follow-up. The study showed a low correlation between the QuickDASH scores and the improvement in mobility, showing a weak relation between the scores (r<0.2). Conclusion: In our study, QuickDASH questionnaire scores for the treatment of Dupuytren´s disease did not correlate with clinical outcomes.