Article

Purpose: To determine the reproducibility, responsiveness and concurrent validity
of Dutch versions of the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Modified Fatigue Impact
Scale (MFIS), and Checklist Individual Strength (CIS20R) in patients with
multiple sclerosis (MS). METHOD: Forthy-three ambulatory patients with MS (mean
age 48.7 years; SD 7 years; 30 women; median Expanded Disability Status Scale
score 3.5) completed the questionnaires twice within 1 week. The Intraclass
Correlation Coefficients (ICCs), Bland and Altman analysis, the smallest
detectable change (SDC) and the minimal detectable change (MDC) were calculated.
Concurrent validity was determined by Pearson's correlation coefficients.
RESULTS: ICCs ranged from 0.76 (FSS), to 0.85 (MFIS) to 0.81 (CIS20R). Bland and
Altman analysis showed no significant systematic differences between assessments.
MDCs were 20.7% (FSS), 19.23% (MFIS), and 17.7% (CIS20R). Pearson correlation
coefficients were r = 0.66 (FSS-MFIS), r = 0.54 (MFIS-CIS20R) and r = 0.42
(CIS20R-FSS). CONCLUSION: Despite good test-retest reliability of FSS, MFIS and
the CIS20R, the present study shows that fatigue questionnaires are not very
responsive for change in patients with MS. This finding suggests that future
trials should monitor profiles of fatigue by repeated measurements rather than
pre-post assessments alone. The moderate associations suggest that the three
questionnaires largely measure different aspects of perceived fatigue.

Langue : ANGLAIS