Validity and Reliability of Persian Version of 12-Item Pruritus Severity Score Questionnaire in Patients with Chronic Liver Disease and Pruritus

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

 Currently, there is no published questionnaire translated in the Persian language for pruritus evaluation in patients with chronic liver disease. Therefore, it would be well worth having a valid and reliable Persian questionnaire for assessing pruritus with its different aspects. This study was designed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the translated version of the 12-Item Pruritus Severity Score (12-PSS)

METHODS:

The patients with pruritus due to chronic liver disease, who referred to the liver clinic affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences, were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Following the forward-backward translation of 12-PSS into Persian, the content validity index (CVI) and its reliability were assessed. The patients were asked to respond to the visual analog scale (VAS) along with 12-PSS on their visits to evaluate the correlation between them.

RESULTS:

160 eligible patients were entered in the present study. The mean age was 46.03 (±13.05) years. The Cronbach’s alpha for all domains of 12-PSS was 0.81-0.92 (average 0.89), which showed a strong consistency. The mean VAS and 12-PSS were 5.47±2.55 and 11.71±5.25, respectively, and the correlation of VAS and 12-PSS was strong (p<0.05, r=0.89).

CONCLUSIONS:

The Persian version of 12-PSS is a valid questionnaire for assessing pruritus and follow up response to treatment for patients with chronic liver disease.