Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Version of the Atroshi-Lyrén 6-Item CTS Symptoms Scale in Unilateral Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to assess the reliability and construct validity of the Turkish version of the Atroshi-Lyrén 6-Item carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) Symptoms Scale (A-L Scale-Tr) and to examine its associations with patient-reported outcome measures, including the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) and Quick Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH).

METHODS

A forward-backward translation procedure was performed following international guidelines. Sixty-two patients with unilateral CTS were invited to complete the A-L Scale-Tr. The test-retest reliability, convergent, and discriminant validity were evaluated.

RESULTS

The A-L Scale-Tr revealed high values of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.854), and test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.93-0.98). In the A-L Scale-Tr the factor structure was found optimal and explained 58.39% of the variance. The validity analysis showed strong correlation with night pain (r = 0.821), moderate correlation with BCTQ Symptoms Severity Scale (r = 0.564) and BCTQ Functional Status Scale (r = 0.453), QuickDASH (r = 0.474), pain at rest (r = 0.557), and pain at activity (r = 0.497) (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

It was found that the A-L Scale-Tr has good reliability and construct validity for symptom severity assessment in CTS. The A-L scale will be useful to clinicians and researchers in Turkish patients.