Development and validation of the Convalescence Symptom Assessment Scale for EsophageCtomy patients.
Hui Ge, Xuanxuan Ma, Wen Li and 4 others
PMID 38391107WHAT IT FOUND
A 28-item patient-reported symptom scale for oesophagectomy recovery was completed quickly and tracked symptom severity similarly to an established measure.
Scores stayed stable when patients repeated it after retesting.
Key findings
01A 28-item patient-reported scale was formed for oesophagectomy recovery symptoms, covering early recovery, late recovery, persistent symptoms and psychosocial symptoms.
02In 331 valid patient responses, the scale total score correlated 0.910 with symptom severity on MDASI-GI and 0.450 with symptom distress on MDASI-GI.
03The scale took 9.42 ± 3.23 min to complete, and total score stability after 2 weeks was 0.870 in 30 retested patients.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The scale was developed and tested in oesophagectomy patients from two tertiary hospitals in one city, so it may not apply to other regions, younger patients or community settings. The authors found it more suitable for patients over 60 years old, and they removed work-related items, so it may miss problems relevant to younger working patients. The study was cross-sectional and did not test the scale at several postoperative time points, although recovery symptoms change rapidly. Some items, including hunger and diarrhoea, did not fit the final structure well or were hard for patients to rate, but were kept because they matter clinically. Stability was checked in only 30 patients, so the retest result is less secure than the main validation result. The paper did not test whether using the scale changes care, education or patient outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. Funding came from regional education and postgraduate research grants.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that symptom monitoring with the scale improves oesophagectomy recovery. It is a validation study of a patient-reported questionnaire in mainly older Chinese patients, and it did not test a care intervention.