Translation and Validation of the Facial Clinimetric Evaluation Scale to Spanish.

OBJECTIVE

Peripheral facial palsy is a disabling condition; thus, assessing its impact on quality of life is one of the greatest challenges within this discipline. The Facial Clinimetric Evaluation (FaCE) Scale has been validated for this purpose. The aim of this study is to translate and validate the Spanish version of the FaCE Scale.

STUDY

DESIGN

We performed a forward-backward translation of the original English FaCE Scale. A pilot test and a posterior prospective validation study were performed.

SETTING

A pilot test and a posterior prospective validation study were conducted in a specialized facial palsy unit in a tertiary hospital.

METHODS

A validation study was carried out in 85 patients to calculate the scale's internal consistency and validity and to compare outcomes with the Sunnybrook Facial Grading System and the Facial Disability Index (FDI).

RESULTS

Internal consistency was evaluated by Cronbach's α coefficient, which showed a value of 0.841 (95% CI, 0.786-0.886). The total FaCE Scale score correlates well with the Sunnybrook, FDI physical function, and FDI social/well-being function scores: r = 0.773, r = 0.883, and r = 0.523, respectively. The FDI social/well-being function has the highest correlation with the FaCE Scale social function domain (r = 0.595).

CONCLUSION

The Spanish version of the FaCE Scale demonstrated a high psychometric property that allows it to be used for clinical practice to assess the quality of life of Spanish-speaking patients with peripheral facial palsy.