BACKGROUND:
There is a lack of questionnaires in Brazilian Portuguese to evaluate patient-reported lower limb function.
OBJECTIVE:
To translate, cross-culturally adapt to the Brazilian population, and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS).
METHOD:
The LEFS was translated by two independent assessors and back-translated to English. Then, the LEFS-Brazil was tested on 20 patients who answered the questionnaire in the cross-cultural adaptation phase. For the evaluation of the psychometric properties, 100 patients answered the questionnaire. The reliability was tested by two independent assessors. The Medical Outcomes Study 36-item from Health Survey (SF-36) was used as the criterion method for construct validity. The sensitivity to change was tested for four consecutive weeks.
RESULTS:
The internal consistency was α = 0.96. The intra-observer reliability was CCI (intraclass correlation coefficient) = 0.96 and CCI interobserver = 0.98; the Bland and Altman mean difference () intra-observer = -1.52 and interobserver = 0.46. The correlation between the LEFS and SF-36 in the first week was the following: physical function r=0.82, physical role r=0.57, emotional role r=0.43 and mental health r=0.33. The LEFS was responsive when comparing the mean of the first week to the second, third and fourth weeks and comparing the second to the fourth week. The cut-off point was 11, and the area under the receiving operator curve was 0.96 95% CI [0.88;0.99], with sensitivity = 0.96, 1-specificity = 0 and standard error = 0.02.
CONCLUSION:
The LEFS-Brazil is reliable, valid and responsive.
Key words: questionnaires; physical therapy; rehabilitation; validity; reliability; responsiveness
