Cross-cultural translation and validation of the Chinese Oxford Knee Score and the Activity and Participation Questionnaire

Abstract

Objective: To cross-culturally translate and validate the Chinese versions of the Oxford Knee Score (OKS) and the Activity and Participation Questionnaire (APQ) in patients with end-stage knee osteoarthritis who are also candidates for knee replacement. Methods: The Chinese version of the OKS and APQ was completed by standard forward–backward translation and adaption. The feasibility was validated by a pretest in 30 patients. The final version together with the Short Form-36 (SF-36), EQ-5D, and EQ visual analog scale were assessed in 150 patients, and the OKS and APQ were repeated in 30 patients after a 2-week interval. The psychometric properties of the OKS and APQ were evaluated for test–retest reliability using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), internal consistency using Cronbach’s α, and construct validity using Spearman’s correlation analysis. Results: All patients were able to understand and complete both the OKS and APQ without difficulty (i.e. no missing data). The ICCs were 0.959 for the OKS, 0.956 for the APQ for total scores, and >0.7 for each item. Cronbach’s α was greater than 0.7, and the corrected item-total correlation was greater than 0.4 for each item of both questionnaires. The OKS and APQ showed better correlations with questions from the pain and function domains than with those from the mental status domains of the SF-36 and EQ-5D. No floor or ceiling effect was identified in either questionnaire. Conclusions: The Chinese versions of the OKS and APQ are easy to understand and complete and showed good reliability and validity. They can be used to assess patient-reported outcomes after undergoing knee replacement in mainland China.