Validation of the Thai version of the quality of recovery scale (QoR-14-Thai) after elective abdominal surgery under general anesthesia

Abstract

Background: The 15-item Quality of Recovery scale (QoR-15), a short form of the QoR-40, is a widely used self-reported tool for measuring the postoperative quality of recovery. It has been translated into many languages. In this study, we aimed to validate a translated Thai version of the QoR-15 in patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery under general anesthesia. Methods: This was a single-center observational cohort study. The QoR-15 was translated into Thai and culturally adapted, which led to the items on severe and moderate pain being merged, yielding a 14-item scale: the QoR-14-Thai. Next, the QoR-14-Thai, a checklist measuring the patients’ activities of daily living (ADL), and a 100-mm visual analog scale for assessing their global health (VAS-GH) were administered to the study patients before and 24 h after their abdominal surgery. The validity, reliability, responsiveness, and feasibility of the QoR-14-Thai were assessed. Results: Among 166 patients, 140 completed the questionnaires, achieving a questionnaire completion rate of 100%. We observed moderate convergent validity between the postoperative QoR-14-Thai and the VAS-GH (r = 0.54, p < 0.001) and ADL checklist (r = 0.50, p < 0.001). The QoR-14-Thai was negatively correlated with the length of hospital stay (r = − 0.23, p < 0.006) and postoperative admission to the intensive care unit (r = − 0.85, p = 0.001). The QoR-14-Thai had excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.869), split-half reliability (0.913), test–retest reliability (0.94), and high responsiveness (Cohen’s effect size: 1.01, standardized response mean: 0.73). The median time to complete the questionnaire was 2 min (interquartile range: 1–2). Conclusions: The QoR-14-Thai was deemed a valid, reliable, and convenient tool for evaluating the quality of recovery after elective abdominal surgery. Trial registration: This study was registered prospectively on the Thai Clinical Trials Registry, identifier TCTR20210326009, on March 26, 2021.