Initial revision of Symptom Distress Scale for postoperative patients with pituitary tumor

Abstract

Objective To revise the Symptom Distress Scale for postoperative patients with pituitary tumor and to test its reliability and validity. Methods On the base of previous qualitative interview and literature review, Delphi consultation was performed to identify items of the Symptom Distress Scale for postoperative patients with pituitary tumor. By convenience sampling method, totally 191 patients from four first-class ternary hospitals in Jiangsu province were investigated effectively by this scale. Results A scale of 4 factors and 16 items was identified by expert interviews, item analysis, exploratory factor analysis and the four factors could explain 69.812% of the variance. The Cronbach α coefficient of the scale was 0.920, the content validity index was 0.915, and the interrater reliability was 0.860. Conclusions Symptom Distress Scale for postoperative patients with pituitary tumor has good reliability and validity to assess the symptom distress of pituitary tumor patients after operation. Key words: Pituitary tumor; Postoperation; Symptom distress; Reliability; Validity