The electronic data bases, Medline and EMBASE were searched from 1990 to 2009 using the key search terms ¡®heart failure¡¯ combined with ¡®quality of life¡¯, ¡®pharmacological therapy¡¯ and ¡®randomized controlled trials¡¯. A total of 136 articles were identified and evaluated according to the ¡°Minimum Standard Checklist (MSC) for Evaluating HRQoL Outcomes¡±.
According to the MSC criteria, 26 (19.1 % ) studies were considered ¡®very limited¡¯, 91 (66.9 % ) were ¡®limited¡¯ and only 19 (14.0 % ) studies were considered to be of a ¡®probably robust¡¯ in terms of methodological and reporting rigor. In fact, the quality of HRQoL reporting has not improved over time.
HRQoL is a critical consideration in CHF management, yet reporting is highly variable. There is a need to develop a standardized method for measuring and reporting HRQoL measures in clinical trials to aid in the interpretation and application of findings.