A quality of life questionnaire for patients with scapula alata (SA-Q): development and validation

Sigrid Tibaek,Janne Gadsboell

doi:10.1186/s12891-020-03284-4

Sigrid Tibaek, Janne Gadsboell

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-020-03284-4

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Abstract

BackgroundNo quality of life (QoL) questionnaire exists for patients with scapula alata (SA). The objective of this study was to develop and validate a QoL questionnaire for SA patients.MethodsA team consisting of experts (n = 7) and SA patients (n = 7) developed, through five continuous phases, a QoL questionnaire for SA patients (SA-Q). The developed questionnaire consists of 21 items, grouped in five domains: physical symptoms (five items), work (four items), sport and leisure activities (four items), life style (four items) and emotions (four items).Content and face validity for the SA-Q questionnaire were evaluated by a sample of 48 (90%) out of 53 SA patients recruited from a university hospital. The Content Validity Index (CVI) and modified kappa index (κ*) assessed the relevance of SA-Q questionnaire.ResultsThe SA patients evaluated 20 (95%) out of 21 items as excellent for content validity (I-CVI > 0.78, κ* > 0.74), one (5%) item was considered as good (I-CVI < 0.78, 0.60 < κ* < 0.74). The average scale (S-CVI/ave) for the entire SA-Q questionnaire was 0.93 indicating an excellent content validity.ConclusionsThis study presents the development and validation of content validity of the first QoL questionnaire for SA patients. The SA-Q questionnaire has potential clinical implications for detected changes concerning the different items during rehabilitation.Clinical trialsNot relevant.

Highlights

No quality of life (QoL) questionnaire exists for patients with scapula alata (SA)
Participants The experts (n = 7) in the SA team were females (100%), educated physiotherapists (100%), medium 48
Validation The evaluations of the newly developed SA-Q questionnaire were completed by all 48 participants

Summary

Introduction

No quality of life (QoL) questionnaire exists for patients with scapula alata (SA). The condition is characterised by sudden shoulder pain of typically a few weeks duration followed by rapid fatigue of the arm, reduced muscle strength and inability to elevate the affected arm above shoulder level [6]. Palsy of the serratus anterior muscle caused by injury to the long thoracic nerve is considered the most common cause [7]. The serratus anterior muscle is essential for the scapula motion and stability; palsy of the muscle causes malalignment and winging of the scapula resulting in severe biomechanical alterations of scapula and the shoulder complex in Tibaek and Gadsboell BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders (2020) 21:260 general. The patient is not able to elevate the arm above shoulder level on the affected side

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