Measuring patient-reported distress from breast magnetic resonance imaging: Development and validation of the MRI-related distress scale (MRI-DS).

OBJECTIVE

Although breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a valuable screening tool, breast MRI testing burden was associated with cancer worry and quality of life. We aimed to develop and validate the MRI-related distress scale (MRI-DS) to assess comprehensive distress specifically related to breast MRI.

METHODS

We enrolled women aged above 18 years, diagnosed breast cancer, had MRI examination at least one time, and who could speak and read Korean in phase I and enrolled women aged above 18 years, visited outpatient clinic of breast general surgery, had undergone MRI examination at least once, and could speak and read Korean in phase II. We excluded patients who had any physical or psychiatric conditions in both phases. We recruited from a tertiary university-based hospital in South Korea between April and August 2023.

RESULTS

All 18 items had acceptable levels of item correlation (≥0.30) in the explanatory factor analysis with a four-factor solution. The fit indices for the four-factor solution model were good. The discriminant validity of the MRI-DS had a moderate correlation with general anxiety or quality of life. In the known-group analysis, those who reported MRI as the most burden breast examination had higher total scores.

CONCLUSION

The validity of the MRI-DS has been confirmed as a scale for measuring the specific distress caused by breast MRI. The MRI-DS is recommended to health professional to communicate with patients with MRI.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: It can be used to assess the distress associated with MRI screening in breast cancer patients. Physician could use MRI-DS to discuss the reasons for distress caused by breast MRI screening and to address specific sources of discomfort associated with it.