Table 1.
The EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire, sorted in descending order of difficulty (logit units) according to the patient responses in this study (questions 29 and 30, which were not reported, are excluded)
| Difficulty | Measure | Observed | Expected | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Items | Logit* | SE | IN.MSQ | IN.MSQ |
| 5 | Do you need help with eating, dressing, washing yourself or using the toilet? | 2.4 | 0.31 | 1.60 | 1.21 |
| 3 | Do you have any trouble taking a short walk outside of the house? | 1.45 | 0.23 | 1.04 | 0.85 |
| 15 | Have you vomited? | 1.15 | 0.21 | 1.61 | 1.2 |
| 17 | Have you had diarrhea? | 0.97 | 0.21 | 1.17 | 0.93 |
| 8 | Were you short of breath? | 0.73 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 0.91 |
| 6 | Were you limited in doing either your work or other daily activities? | 0.69 | 0.19 | 0.95 | 1.03 |
| 16 | Have you been constipated? | 0.66 | 0.19 | 1.19 | 0.87 |
| 14 | Have you felt nauseated? | 0.58 | 0.19 | 1.41 | 1.09 |
| 7 | Were you limited in pursuing your hobbies or other leisure time activities? | 0.31 | 0.18 | 1.05 | 0.77 |
| 19 | Did pain interfere with your daily activities? | 0.28 | 0.18 | 1.05 | 0.91 |
| 20 | Difficulty in concentrating on things, like reading papers or watching TV? | 0.25 | 0.18 | 1.01 | 0.91 |
| 23 | Did you feel irritable? | -0.11 | 0.17 | 0.88 | 1.1 |
| 13 | Have you lacked appetite? | -0.14 | 0.17 | 0.88 | 1.19 |
| 4 | Do you need to stay in bed or a chair during the day? | -0.17 | 0.17 | 1.16 | 1.1 |
| 1 | Trouble doing strenuous activities, like carrying a heavy bag or a suitcase? | -0.19 | 0.17 | 0.89 | 1.03 |
| 9 | Have you had pain? | -0.22 | 0.17 | 1.21 | 0.96 |
| 21 | Did you feel tense? | -0.25 | 0.17 | 0.87 | 0.84 |
| 25 | Have you had difficulty remembering things? | -0.33 | 0.17 | 0.75 | 1.08 |
| 2 | Do you have any trouble taking a long walk? | -0.41 | 0.16 | 1.09 | 1.09 |
| 22 | Did you worry? | -0.68 | 0.16 | 0.71 | 1.17 |
| 11 | Have you had trouble sleeping? | -0.72 | 0.16 | 1.31 | 0.84 |
| 26 | Physical condition or medical treatment interfered with your family life? | -0.75 | 0.16 | 1.41 | 0.98 |
| 24 | Did you feel depressed? | -0.77 | 0.16 | 0.64 | 1 |
| 27 | Physical condition or medical treatment interfered with your social activities? | -0.82 | 0.16 | 1.14 | 0.81 |
| 10 | Did you need to rest? | -0.84 | 0.15 | 0.49 | 1.13 |
| 12 | Have you felt weak? | -0.99 | 0.15 | 0.41 | 1.26 |
| 28 | Physical condition or medical treatment caused you financial difficulties? | -1.02 | 0.15 | 1.74 | 1.09 |
| 18 | Were you tired? | -1.08 | 0.15 | 0.49 | 0.88 |
*Step threshold difficulties are -1.88, 0.73 and 1.15 under the Rasch rating scale model.