Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Revised Piper Fatigue Scale in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Background: Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and has a major impact on their quality of life. Measurement tools that assess the patient’s condition are commonly used in the neurological field, though diagnostic tools are currently unable to distinguish potential alternative causes of fatigue in individual patients. The Revised Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS-R) is a self-administered assessment scale that is internationally used for fatigue measurement. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Italian version of the PFS-R in patients with MS. Methods: Forty-one individuals were included in this study. Each participant in the study was given a dossier, in paper format, containing the informed consent form, a personal data sheet, the Fatigue Symptoms and Impacts Questionnaire in Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis (FSIQ-RMS), the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), and the PFS-R. Results: The PFS-R was found to have strong internal consistency, with a value of α equal to 0.977. Correlations between PFS-R, FSS, and FSIQ-RMS scores were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient, and all scales showed statistically significant correlations. Conclusion: The PFS-R is a new self-administered tool to assess fatigue in patients with MS. It evaluates fatigue characteristics, difficulty in carrying out daily life activities, and how the individual feels as a result of this symptom. This tool was previously validated for use in cancer patients, which also allows us to make a comparison between different pathologies and rehabilitation treatments.

Identifying relevant factors influencing cancer-related fatigue in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma during chemotherapy

“…The CRF status of the patients was evaluated with the Chinese edition of the Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS)[ 12 ]. The PFS is a subjective self-evaluation scale of perceived fatigue.…”

Application of traditional Chinese medicine acupoint needle embedding combined with emotional nursing in patients with gynecological malignant tumors

“…Each dimension had 9 items, each scoring according to 1 to 7 levels. The higher the score, the smaller the impact of CINV on functional living; (4) CRF: The Chinese version of the Revised Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS-R)[ 10 ] was employed to examine the level of fatigue in the two groups before and following the intervention. It consists of 22 questions and is categorized as follows: Behavior, emotion, perception, and cognition; (5) Mental state: The medical coping style scale[ 11 ] was applied to determine the coping style of both groups before and after the intervention, which was divided into three dimensions: Avoidance, yield and facing, with 20 items.…”

FunctionaL Assessment Scale of Hemianopia (FLASH): A New Multidisciplinary Tool to Assess Hemianopia in Patients with Severe Acquired Brain Injury

“…An expert committee composed of health professionals (1 neurologist, 1 ophthalmologist, 2 speech therapists, 2 physical therapists, 1 neuropsychologist) and experts of psychometry [17][18][19][20] developed the FLASH on the theoretical concept that a functional assessment of hemianopia could offer a qualitative and structured analysis of the most common behaviors observed in patients with hemianopia The expert committee's role was to consolidate all the versions of the questionnaire and develop the prefinal version of the questionnaire for field-testing. The committee reached a consensus on any discrepancy.…”