Validation of Korean Version of Low Anterior Resection Syndrome Score Questionnaire

Chang Woo Kim, Woon Kyung Jeong, Gyung Mo Son, Ik Yong Kim, Ji Won Park, Seung-Yong Jeong, Kyu Joo Park, Suk-Hwan Lee, Chang Woo Kim, Woon Kyung Jeong, Gyung Mo Son, Ik Yong Kim, Ji Won Park, Seung-Yong Jeong, Kyu Joo Park, Suk-Hwan Lee

Abstract

Purpose: Patients who undergo radical surgery for rectal cancer often experience low anterior resection syndrome (LARS). Symptoms of this syndrome include frequent bowel movements, gas incontinence, fecal incontinence, fragmentation, and urgency. The aim of this study was to investigate the convergent validity, discriminative validity, and reliability of the Korean version of the LARS score questionnaire.

Methods: The English LARS score questionnaire was translated into Korean using the forward-and-back translation method. A total of 146 patients who underwent radical surgery for rectal cancer answered the Korean version of the LARS score questionnaire including an anchor question assessing the impact of bowel function. Participants answered the questionnaire once more after 2 weeks.

Results: The Korean LARS score questionnaire showed high convergent validity in terms of high correlation between the LARS score and quality of life (perfect fit 55.5% vs. moderate fit 37.6% vs. no fit 6.8%, respectively; P < 0.001). The LARS score also showed good discriminative validity between groups of patients differing by sex (29 for males vs. 25 for females; P = 0.014), tumor level (29 for ≤8 cm vs. 24 for >8 cm; P = 0.021), and radiotherapy (32 for yes vs. 24 for no; P = 0.001). The LARS score also demonstrated high reliability at test-retest with no difference between scores at the first and second tests (intraclass correlation coefficient: Q1 = 0.932; Q2 = 0.909, Q3 = 0.944, Q4 = 0.931, and Q5 = 0.942; P < 0.001, respectively).

Conclusion: The Korean version of the LARS score questionnaire has proven to be a valid and reliable tool for measuring LARS in Korean patients with rectal cancer.

Keywords: Low anterior resection syndrome; Quality of life; Questionnaire; Rectal cancer; Validation.

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
c score versus impact in quality of life (QoL).
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Box plots comparing low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) score by sex, tumor location, and radiotherapy.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Bland-Altman plot 95% limits of agreement (−8.5 to 8.8) illustrating differences between low anterior resection syndrome scores at first and second tests.

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Source: PubMed

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