P05.74 Congruence between brain tumor patients and their informal caregivers on patients’ executive functioning

• Published in: Neuro-oncology (Charlottesville, Va.) Vol. 20; no. suppl_3; p. iii320
• Main Authors: van der Linden, S D, Gehring, K, Rutten, G J M, Sitskoorn, M M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Oxford University Press 19.09.2018
• Subjects: Poster Presentations
• ISSN: 1522-8517; 1523-5866
• DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noy139.400

Abstract Background Monitoring of symptoms and quality of life in patients with primary brain tumors is increasingly being supported with information of informal caregivers, but research on patient-proxy agreement is limited. In this study, the level of agreement between patient-report and patient-by proxy-report of executive functioning was evaluated. Material and Methods Data of this study were collected in a larger ongoing prospective study on cognitive rehabilitation in brain tumor patients in the Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital Tilburg, The Netherlands (ClinicalTrials.gov NTC03373487). Three months after surgery, patients and their informal caregivers completed the adult version of the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF-A). This 75-item questionnaire addresses different aspects of executive function. The index-scores, i.e. Behavioral Regulation and Metacognition, and the total scores of patients and proxies were evaluated. Mean scores of patients and proxies were compared using two-tailed paired-sample t-tests. Concordance correlation coefficients (CCCs) were calculated and Bland-Altman plots were evaluated. Results A total of 43 dyads were included in the study. Patients (51% female) had a mean age of 51.1 (±11.0) years. Twenty-five patients underwent resective surgery for a meningioma and 18 for a low-grade glioma. Mean scores of patients and proxies did not differ significantly (p-values > .05). CCCs of .63, .58 and .63 were found for Behavioral Regulation, Metacognition and the total score respectively, indicating moderate to substantial concordance. Bland-Altman plots demonstrated agreement between patient and proxy ratings, with over 95% of the data points lying between the limits of agreement (Meandiff ± 2SDdiff), for the index and total scores. Conclusion Preliminary findings suggest that there is congruence between patients and proxies in the evaluation of patients’ executive functioning after brain tumor surgery. Final results from approximately 50 dyads will be presented at the conference. Also, the relation with objective measures of executive functioning will be presented, as well as the potential influence of tumor location and tumor type. This research was supported by the Dutch organization for health research and innovation (ZonMw, project number 842003009).