[Developing and Validating the Long COVID-19 Symptom Severity Index (LCSSI) for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease].

BACKGROUND

Existing tools for assessing Long COVID are primarily designed for the general population. Few instruments adequately capture the needs and vulnerabilities of high-risk groups such as patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), who have structurally vulnerable lungs.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to develop and validate the Long COVID Symptom Severity Index (LCSSI), a concise and clinically sensitive instrument designed specifically for use on patients with respiratory diseases.

METHODS

The study was conducted in two phases. In Phase I, item generation was based on a literature review and expert panel discussion involving six pulmonologists. In Phase II, a cross-sectional validation study was conducted in the chest medicine wards and outpatient clinics of a medical center in southern Taiwan. The psychometric properties of the LCSSI were examined.

RESULTS

One hundred and twenty-eight patients with COPD (93% male) were enrolled, of whom 63.3% were classified under GOLD (global initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease) Group E. The most prevalent symptoms found were cough/sputum (100%), fatigue/weakness (90.6%), and dyspnea (88.3%). The LCSSI demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .88), and correlated positively with the COPD Assessment Test (p < .01) and negatively with the 15D Health-Related Quality of Life scale (p < .01). Mean LCSSI scores differed significantly across GOLD groups, with Group E showing higher mean total and core symptom scores (all p < .01), supporting construct validity.

CONCLUSIONS / IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Based on this sample, the results indicate the LCSSI has acceptable internal consistency and validity, supporting its use as a reference tool for symptom assessment in patients with COPD during the late recovery phase for Long COVID.