Translation and adaptation to Brazilian Portuguese of the Lymphedema Rating Scale in Head and Neck Cancer

Abstract

ObjectiveTranslate to brazilian portuguese, culturally adapt and test the rating and classification scales of cervicofacial lymphedema of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Head and Neck Lymphedema Protocol (MDACC HNL) in patients undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer.MethodsThe process followed international guidelines and translation stages by two head and neck surgeons, and back translation independently by two native Americans. The test of final version was based on the evaluation of 18 patients by one speech pathologist and one physical therapist who applied the scales in Portuguese.ResultsThe translation of the three scales was carried out independently and the translators reached a consensus for the final version. Minor modifications were made by translating two terms into the Assessment of the Face. Versions of back-translation were similar to each other. The instrument was successfully applied to patients independently.ConclusionThe translation and cultural adaptation of the assessment and rating scale of the cervicofacial lymphedema of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Head and Neck Lymphedema Protocol to the Brazilian Portuguese were successful.

Systematic review of head and neck lymphedema assessment

“…For internal lymphedema, clinician‐reported assessment consists exclusively of rating scales based on appearance on laryngoscopy. Unlike for external lymphedema, there is relative consensus in the literature on the optimal grading criteria for assessment of internal lymphedema, with the Patterson Edema Scale selected as the reference tool in the vast majority of studies in the last decade 1–3,8,14,32–34,48–53 . An alternative, the Late Effects Normal Tissue‐Subjective, Objective, Management, Analytic (LENT‐SOMA) Scale, was utilized in several earlier papers but does not take into account pharyngeal lymphedema and has received less attention 37,38 .…”

“…Unlike for external lymphedema, there is relative consensus in the literature on the optimal grading criteria for assessment of internal lymphedema, with the Patterson Edema Scale selected as the reference tool in the vast majority of studies in the last decade. [1][2][3]8,14,[32][33][34][48][49][50][51][52][53] An alternative, the Late Effects Normal Tissue-Subjective, Objective, Management, Analytic (LENT-SOMA) Scale, was utilized in several earlier papers but does not take into account pharyngeal lymphedema and has received less attention. 37,38 The Patterson Scale assesses 11 structures and 2 spaces, with a rating from normal to severe.…”