Assessment of subjective appetite sensations in hemodialysis patients. Agreement and feasibility between traditional paper and pen and a novel electronic appetite rating system

The aim of this study was to assess the agreement between a novel Electronic Appetite Rating System (EARS) and traditional paper and pen visual analog scales (VASs) in a clinical population. 28 hemodialysis patients (mean age 61 ± 17 years, 50% male, median dialysis vintage 19.5(4–101) months) were asked to rate their subjective sensations of hunger, fullness and desire to eat on VAS using both methods. The mean (S.D.) bias ranged from 2.6(16.6) mm to 6.2(15.7) mm which indicated that the two methods did not agree. Patients preferred the paper and pen method compared with the EARS. Either method would be suitable to use in a clinical population; however, it would be inappropriate to use the methods interchangeably.