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Pruritis is a serious problem in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), including those receiving kidney replacement therapy (KRT). Several tools have been designed for assessment of CKD-associated pruritis (CKD-aP) and its impact on the patient’s quality of life (QoL). However, some of them have not been validated in the Russian population of CKD patients. The aim of the study was to validate the Russian versions of the Itch MOS and Skindex-16 questionnaires. Furthermore, we aimed to examine the usefulness of questionnaires for comprehensive assessment of CKD-aP and various functional aspects in patients receiving KRT.
The Skindex-16 and Itch MOS questionnaires underwent a two-step linguistic and cultural adaptation procedure in accordance with current methodological guidelines. The Skindex-16, Itch MOS, 5D Elman scale, and WI-NRS scale questionnaires were tested in a group of adult patients with CKD receiving maintenance hemodialysis. As a part of testing the Russian versions of Skindex-16, Itch MOS and 5D-Elman questionnaires, focus groups were interviewed (n=5-8) to assess comprehensibility and ease of completion by patients. Reliability was assessed by internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and by the test-retest method. Stability of scores over time for each subscale and index across the two assessments was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Face, content, convergent validity as well as usefulness of the tools were evaluated.
Russian versions of the Skindex-16 and Itch MOS questionnaires have been developed; their reliability and validity for assessing concerns associated with CKD-aP have been demonstrated. The Russian versions of the Skindex-16, Itch MOS, 5D Elman and WI-NRS questionnaires may be used in research and clinical practice to analyze various aspects of pruritis and its impact on QoL in CKD patients including those receiving KRT.