An outcome measure of functionality and quality of life in patients with cervical myelopathy

Abstract EN

Cervical spondy lotic myelopathy (CSM) is a common cause of significant clinical morbidity.

The Japanese Orthopedic Association Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation Questionnaire (JOACMEQ) is a measure of health-related quality of life in these patients. Objectives : This study aimed to cross-culturally translate and validate the JOACMEQ in Iran. Patients and Methods: This study was a prospective clinical validation one.

Forward-backward procedure was applied to translate the questionnaire from English into Persian.

The translation and cross-cultural adaptation were performed in accordance with the published guidelines.

A sample of patients with CSM was asked to respond to the questionnaire at two times : providing preoperative and postoperative assessments (6 months follow-up).

To test the reliability, the internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach α coefficient and the validity was assessed by convergent validity.

Responsiveness to change was also assessed comparing patients’ preoperative and postoperative scores. Results : All 87 patients completed the questionnaire.

The Cronbach α coefficient for the JOACMEQ at preoperative and postoperative assessments ranged from 0.71 to 0.82 indicating a good internal consistency for the questionnaire.

In addition, the correlation of each item with its hypothesized subscale of the JOACMEQ showed satisfactory results suggesting that the items had a substantial association with their own subscales.

Further analysis also indicated that the questionnaire was responsive to change (P < 0.001). Conclusions : In general, the findings suggest that the Persian version of the JOACMEQ is a reliable and valid measure of functionality and quality of life evaluation among Iranian patients suffered from CSM.