Validity and reliability of the Turkish Self-administered Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (S-LANSS) questionnaire

Abstract

Objective: The Self-Administered Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (S-LANSS) is a 7-item self-report scale developed to identify pain of predominantly neuropathic origin. The aim of this study was to develop a Turkish version of the S-LANSS and to test its validity and reliability in chronic pain patients.

Method and patients: We enrolled 244 chronic pain patients treated at the Neurology Department. The original version of the S-LANSS was translated into Turkish by standard procedures. An independent clinician determined the pain type (neuropathic vs nociceptive). The reliability (internal consistency and test-retest reliability) and validity (agreement with the reference diagnosis and sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values) were determined.

Results: Two-hundred and forty-four patients with chronic pain (167 women, 43.1 +/- 11.4 years), 137, neuropathic pain and 107, nociceptive pain, were asked to complete the S-LANSS twice. Cronbach's alpha-coefficient was 0.74 for the test and 0.73 for the retest. Total S-LANSS scores for subjects did not significantly differ between applications (P = 0.46). Correlation coefficient was r: 0.97 (P < 0.01), which is fairly high for a self-assessment tool. Compared with the clinical assessment, the sensitivity and specificity of the S-LANSS were 72.3% (95% CI, 64.0-79.6%) and 80.4% (95% CI, 71.6-87.4%), respectively, for both the test and retest. The sensitivity and specificity of the Turkish S-LANSS were similar to those determined in the original validation study.

Conclusion: This study reports the first validation of a translated version of the S-LANNS into another language. The results suggest that the Turkish version of S-LANSS is a reliable and valid differential diagnostic measure of neuropathic pain in chronic pain patients.