A study of the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Nociception Coma Scale–Revised

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to check on the reliability and validity of the translated version of Nociception Coma Scale–Revised. Design: Prospective psychometric study. Setting: Rehabilitation and neurology unit in hospital. Subjects: Patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness. Interventions: None. Main measures: The original English version of the Nociception Coma Scale–Revised was translated into Chinese. The reliability and validity were undertaken by trained raters. Intraclass correlation coefficients were used to assess inter-rater reliability and test–retest reliability. Cronbach’s alpha test was used to investigate internal consistency. Spearman’s correlation was used to calculate concurrent validity. The Coma Recovery Scale–revised was used to assess the consciousness of patients. Results: Eighty-four patients were enrolled in the study. Inter-rater reliability of the Chinese version of Nociception Coma Scale–Revised was high for total scores and motor and verbal subscores and good for facial subscores. Test–retest reliability was high for total score and for all subscores. Analysis revealed a moderate internal consistency for subscores. For the concurrent validity, a strong correlation was found between the Nociception Coma Scale–Revised and the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability behavioral scale for all patients. A moderate correlation was found between the Nociception Coma Scale–Revised and the Coma Recovery Scale–revised scores for all patients. Conclusion: The Chinese version of Nociception Coma Scale–Revised has good reliability and validity data for assessing responses to pain in patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness.