Montse Ferrer

IMIM Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute | IMIM · Epidemiology and Public Health Research Programme

Purpose: To obtain reference norms of EORTC QLQ-C30, EORTC QLQ-BR23, and EQ-5D-5L, based on a population of Spanish non-metastatic breast cancer patients at diagnosis and 2 years after, according to relevant demographic and clinical characteristics. Methods: Multicentric prospective cohort study including consecutive women aged ≥ 18 years with a...

Background The number of published articles on Patient-Reported Outcomes Measures (PROMs) in Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), a leading cause of disability-adjusted life years lost worldwide, has been growing in the last decades. The aim of this study was to identify all the disease-specific PROMs developed for or used in CHD and summarize their chara...

The therapeutic approach of bladder cancer strongly determines its prognosis. We describe the treatments and outcomes for a Spanish cohort of patients with bladder cancer for the first 12 months after diagnosis and identify the factors that influenced the decision to undergo the treatment received. We conducted a multicenter, prospective, cohort st...

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess health inequalities by sexual attraction in the 2016-2017 Barcelona population, stratifying by sex. Methods: Data came from the 2016-2017 Barcelona Health Survey, where 3362 adults answered among other instruments the EuroQol-5 dimensions-5 levels (EQ-5D-5L), which measures five dimensions and summarizes...

To compare the effectiveness at ten years of follow-up of radical prostatectomy, brachytherapy and external radiotherapy, in terms of overall survival, prostate cancer-specific mortality and biochemical recurrence. Cohort of men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer (T1/T2 and low/intermediate risk) from ten Spanish hospitals, followed for 10 ye...

Aims: Longitudinal data on the mental health impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic in healthcare workers is limited. We estimated prevalence, incidence and persistence of probable mental disorders in a cohort of Spanish healthcare workers (Covid-19 waves 1 and 2) -and identified associated risk factors. Methods: 8996 healthc...

Objective To evaluate changes in general and oral health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with dentofacial deformity undergoing orthognathic surgery, and whether these changes vary according to type of deformity.Material and methodsThis is a prospective longitudinal multicenter study of patients with dentofacial deformities (n = 90). The...

Background Asthma impacts children’s physical, emotional, and psychosocial Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL). The EQ-5D-Y is a generic econometric instrument developed to measure HRQL in children. Objective Evaluation of feasibility, validity, reliability, and responsiveness of EQ-5D-Y descriptive system and utility index to allow the assessme...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the mental health of healthcare workers. However, studies in primary care workers are scarce. Aim To investigate the prevalence and associated factors of psychological distress in primary care workers during the first COVID-19 outbreak. Design and setting A multicentre, cross-sectional, web...

There is a need for instruments designed for patients with asthma to self-report their performance of inhaling steps. We aimed to develop an accessible and easy-to-use patient-reported tool for inhaler technique assessment, which could also serve as a training and monitoring resource for any type of inhaler device, and to evaluate its feasibility,...

Background We assessed the moderating effect of pre-pandemic mental disorders on the association of COVID-related perceived stress and social support with mental health. Methods A nationally representative sample of 3500 Spanish adults was interviewed in June 2020 (mean age 49.25 years, ± 15.64; 51.50% females). Mental health included Generalized...

Our aim was to assess the impact of combined orthodontic-surgical treatment on patients' oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) according to type of dentofacial deformities, by synthesizing the available evidence. Methods: Search was conducted in the PubMed, Embase/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Cochrane databases. The eligibility criteria were studi...

Healthcare workers (HCW) are at high risk for suicide, yet little is known about the onset of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) in this important segment of the population in conjunction with the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a multicenter, prospective cohort study of Spanish HCW active during the COVID-9 pandemic. A total of n = 4809 HCW par...

Background As the use of multiplex specific IgE (sIgE) detection methods becomes increasingly widespread, proper comparative validation assessments of emerging new platforms are vital. Objective To assess the clinical and technical performance of a newly introduced microarray platform, ALEX (MacroArray Diagnostics), in the diagnosis of pollen (cyp...

Background Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide despite correct antibiotic use. Corticosteroids have long been evaluated as a treatment option, but heterogeneous effects on survival have precluded their widespread implementation. We aimed to evaluate whether corticosteroids might improve clinica...

Purpose The asthma stepwise treatment approach recommended is based on monitoring patients’ symptoms. The Asthma Research in Children and Adolescents (ARCA) cohort was created to provide evidence about the evolution of persistent asthma. This manuscript describes the development of an electronic health tool, comprising a mobile health application f...

Background Food anaphylaxis is commonly elicited by unintentional ingestion of foods containing the allergen above the tolerance threshold level of the individual. While labelling the 14 main allergens used as ingredients in food products is mandatory in the EU, there is no legal definition of declaring potential contaminants. Precautionary allerge...

The therapeutic approach is crucial to prostate cancer prognosis. We describe treatments and outcomes for a Spanish cohort of patients with prostate cancer during the first 12months after diagnosis and identify the factors that influenced the treatment they received. This multicenter prospective cohort study included patients with prostate cancer f...

Background: Chronic histaminergic angioedema (CHA) is defined as recurrent episodes of isolated angioedema (without hives) of unknown cause that respond to the same treatment as chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). Quality of life (QoL) studies have not been performed for CHA, except those carried out in the context of CSU associated with angioedem...

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a leading infectious cause of morbidity in critically ill patients, yet current guidelines offer no indications for follow-up cultures. We aimed to evaluate the role of follow-up cultures and microbiological response 3 days after diagnosing VAP as predictors of short- and long-term outcomes. Me...

Objectives This study aimed to develop mapping algorithms from the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC) and the Short-Form (SF) Health Surveys to the Patient-Oriented Prostate Utility Scale (PORPUS), an econometric instrument specifically developed for patients with prostate cancer. Methods Data were drawn from 2 cohorts concurrently ad...

Introduction The Diabetes Health Profile (DHP‐18), structured in three dimensions (psychological distress (PD), barriers to activity (BA) and disinhibited eating (DE)), assesses the psychological and behavioural burden of living with type 2 diabetes. The objectives were to adapt the DHP‐18 linguistically and culturally for use with patients with ty...

Purpose Long-term comparative effectiveness research of localized prostate cancer treatments is scarce, evidence lacking specially for brachytherapy. The aim of this study was to assess the long-term impact of the side effects of radical prostatectomy, brachytherapy, and external radiotherapy on patients with localized prostate cancer at 10 years,...

Background: Cardiovascular failure (CVF) may complicate intensive care unit-acquired pneumonia (ICUAP) and radically alters the empirical treatment of this condition. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of CVF on outcome in patients with ICUAP. Methods: A prospective, single-center, observational study was conducted in six medical...

Background Healthcare workers are a key occupational group at risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB). We investigated the prevalence and correlates of STB among hospital workers during the first wave of the Spain COVID‐19 outbreak (March–July 2020). Methods Data come from the baseline assessment of a cohort of Spanish hospital workers (n =...

Objectives: To determine the usefulness of the in vitro and in vivo methods used in the diagnosis of kiwifruit allergy, focusing on the impact of the seed proteins on their sensitivity. Material and methods: Skin prick tests (SPTs) using different commercial extracts, homemade pulp and seed extracts, and prick-prick test with kiwifruit were perf...

Background Recurrent idiopathic histaminergic angioedema is currently classified as a subtype of angioedema, as well as a subtype of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) based on the fact that both are mast-cell mediated and respond to the same treatments. Objective In the present work, we sought to verify whether chronic histaminergic angioedema (...

Objectives The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review in order to assess the impact of early childhood caries (ECC) and its severity on Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL). Materials and Methods An electronic search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, SciELO and Lilacs databases. The study eligibility criteria were p...

Introduction Healthcare workers are vulnerable to adverse mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. We assessed prevalence of mental disorders and associated factors during the first wave of the pandemic among healthcare professionals in Spain. Methods All workers in 18 healthcare institutions (6 AACC) in Spain were invited to web-based surv...

Aims To investigate the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviours (STB; i.e. suicidal ideation, plans or attempts) in the Spanish adult general population during the first wave of the Spain coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (March−July, 2020), and to investigate the individual- and population-level impact of relevant distal and prox...

Purpose: Brachytherapy (BT) and external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) are effective treatments for high-risk prostate cancer (PCa). However, the impact of these treatments on health-related quality of life (HRQL) remains unclear. In this study, we compared EBRT alone with EBRT plus a boost with high-dose rate (HDR)-BT to determine the impact on H...

Objective: AWARE study assesses disease activity, patient's quality of life (QoL) and treatment patterns in chronic urticaria (CU) patient's refractory to H1-antihistamines (H1-AH) in clinical practice during the first year of the study. Methods: Observational, prospective (24 months), international, multicenter study. Patients ≥18 years with H1...

Rationale: In 2017 the International ERS/ESICM/ESCMID/ALAT (European) guidelines defined new risk factors for multidrug resistant (MDR) pathogens in patients with nosocomial pneumonia. Objective: To assess the predictive performance of these newly defined risk factors for MDR pathogens. Methods: We enrolled 507 adult patients with nosocomial p...

Introduction Healthcare workers are vulnerable to adverse mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. We assessed prevalence of mental disorders and associated factors during the first wave of the pandemic among healthcare professionals in Spain. Methods All workers in 18 healthcare institutions (6 AACC) in Spain were invited to web-based surv...

Objective The aim of this study was to develop a Spanish version of the Orthognathic Quality of Life Questionnaire (OQLQ) that is conceptually equivalent to the original questionnaire, as well as acceptable, reliable, valid, and responsive for use in Chilean patients with dentofacial deformities. Material and methods The recommended standard metho...

Introduction Healthcare workers are vulnerable to adverse mental health impacts of COVID-19. We assessed prevalence of mental disorders and associated factors during the first wave of the pandemic among healthcare professionals in Spain. Methods All workers in 18 healthcare institutions (6 AACC) in Spain were invited to a series of online surveys...

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a well-known complication of patients on invasive mechanical ventilation. The main cause of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is pneumonia. ARDS can occur in patients with community-acquired or nosocomial pneumonia. Data regarding ARDS incidence, related pathogens, and specific outcomes in patients...

Rationale: Recommended initial empiric antimicrobial treatment covers the most common bacterial pathogens, however CAP may be caused by microorganisms not targeted by this treatment. The PES score was developed in 2015 to predict the microbiological etiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, extended-spectrum...

Scope: Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) allergy has frequently been reported particularly in Spain and India. Nevertheless, chickpea allergens are poorly characterized. We aimed to identify and characterize potential allergens from chickpea. Methods and results: Candidate proteins were selected by an in silico approach or IgE-testing. Potential allerg...

(298/300) Background There is no clear guidance on empiric antibiotic coverage against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) for hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Objectives To evaluate if the presence of clusters of Gram-positive cocci in Gram staining of respiratory samples predicts S. aureus as HAP/VAP pa...

Abstract Background The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ (PedsQL™) Oral Health Scale was developed to measure oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). The aim of this study was to cross-culturally adapt the parent-reported version for toddlers of PedsQL™ Oral Health Scale into Spanish and to assess the acceptability, reliability and validi...

Purpose: We assessed differences between gay and bisexual men in enacted stigma, and how the association between stigma and depressive symptoms may vary according to sexual orientation identity. Methods: Participants (671 gay and 331 bisexual men who have sex with men) in Baltimore's 2011 and 2014 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance completed an...

Background: In asthma, short- and long-acting β-agonists (SABAs and LABAs) should be used together with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), and regular use is inappropriate. Objective: To assess the relationship between patterns of use of therapy and asthma exacerbations (AEx). Methods: Asthmatic patients (6-40 years) were enrolled in France and th...

Background The lack of continuity between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instruments designed for children and adults hinders change analysis with a life course approach. To resolve this gap, EuroQol (EQ) developed the EQ-5D-Youth (EQ-5D-Y), derived from the EQ-5D for adults. Few studies have assessed the metric properties of EQ-5D-Y in chi...

Background: Epidemiological evidence has suggested a link between beta2-agonists and increases in asthma mortality. There has been much debate about whether regular (daily) long-acting beta2-agonists (LABA) are safe when used in combination with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). This updated Cochrane Review includes results from two large trials that...

Background The purpose of this study is to describe Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of localized prostate cancer patients in an Active Surveillance (AS) program, and to compare them with those undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP), external-beam radiotherapy (XRT) and brachytherapy (BT). Methods Multi-institutional pooled cross-sectional an...

Background: Little is known about risk and prognostic factors in very old patients developing sepsis secondary to community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study of data prospectively collected at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona over a 13-year period. Consecutive patients hospitalized with CAP were in...

Objectives: To obtain a systematic and standardized evaluation of the current evidence on development process, metric properties, and administration issues of oral health-related quality of life instruments available for children and adolescents. Materials and methods: A systematic search until October 2016 was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Lilac...

Background The Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) measures the impact of dental diseases on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life both in children and their families. The aim of this study was to develop a Chilean Spanish version of the ECOHIS that is conceptually equivalent to the original and to assess its acceptability, reliability...

Background: Epidemiological evidence has suggested a link between use of beta₂-agonists and increased asthma mortality. Much debate has surrounded possible causal links for this association, and whether regular (daily) long-acting beta₂-agonists (LABAs) are safe, particularly when used in combination with inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs). This is an...

Objective: Determine the changes in shoulder strength, shoulder range of motion, and arm volume in breast cancer patients treated with sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) or axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) METHOD: Sixty-eight SLNB and 44 ALND patients were followed up from pre-surgery to 5 years after surgery. Primary outcomes were the differe...

Background and objective: The EuroQol 5 dimensions 5 levels (EQ-5D-5L) is the new version of EQ-5D, developed to improve its discriminatory capacity. This study aims to evaluate the construct validity of the Spanish version and provide index and dimension population-based reference norms for the new EQ-5D-5L. Methods: Data were obtained from the...

Aim: To evaluate the association between dose-volume histogram (DVH) values in organs at risk (OAR) and patient-reported HRQoL outcomes. Background: Data on the association between DVHs and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in prostate cancer (PCa) patients are limited. Materials and methods: Five-year follow-up study of 154 patients with...

BACKGROUND:The aim was to evaluate the impact of asthma on patients' Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) by comparing asthmatic women and men with reference norms, to examine the factors which contributed to an impaired HRQoL, and to identify groups at higher risk. METHODS:Cross-sectional evaluation of 222 primary care patients with persistent a...