Published in:
28-02-2022 | NSCLC | Original Article
Validation of the simplified cough symptom score in non-small cell lung cancer patients after surgery
Published in: General Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery | Issue 8/2022
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Background
The simplified Cough Symptom Score (sCSS) is a practical and simple tool for measuring cough severity. However, the sCSS is a consensus of experts, and has not been strictly validated among the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. We used the sCSS and investigated the validity, reliability, and repeatability of this instrument.
Methods
A total of 219 NSCLC patients completed the sCSS, Leicester Cough Questionnaire in Mandarin-Chinese (LCQ-MC) and cough Visual Analog Scale (VAS). 60 patients completed the LCQ and Global Rating of Change (GRC) at follow-up visits after 2–4 weeks. Concurrent validity, internal consistency, and repeatability were assessed.
Results
Analyses of concurrent validity showed significant correlations between the sCSS and the LCQ-MC (r = − 0.356 to − 0.580) and cough VAS (r = 0.555). The correlation of the nighttime score with the LCQ-MC and cough VAS was more closely than that of the daytime score (r = − 0.364 to − 0.545 and r = 0.502 vs. r = − 0.233 to − 0.449 and r = 0.450). Internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach’s α of 0.74–0.90). The internal consistency of the sCSS between the nighttime and daytime scores was 0.428. The repeatability was high (intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.760).
Conclusion
The sCSS is a reliable, valid instrument for assessing postoperative cough in NSCLC patients.