Reliability and validity of the Turkish translation of the delirium rating scale-revised-98

Abstract

Objective: Delirium is a common neuropsychiatric disorder. The Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 (DRS-R-98) is a widely used and well-validated delirium diagnostic and severity scale that has been translated into many languages. We investigated the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the DRS-R-98. Method: Data for 30 consecutive delirium patients were obtained from consultation-liaison psychiatry referrals and 30 non-delirium patients were from routine screening following cardiovascular surgery. Two psychiatrist researchers diagnosed all cases using DSM-IV criteria, and independently administered the DRSR- 98 and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Concurrent validity, interrater reliability, inter-battery factor analysis, internal consistency, sensitivity and specificity at various scale cut-offvalues were analyzed as well as descriptive analyses were performed. Results: Mean age was 70.2±15.4 and 62.8±12.6, and mean DRS-R-98 total score was 25.7±6.3 and 4.5±2.5 for delirium and non-delirium groups, respectively. Cronbachs' α intraclass coefficients measuring interrater reliability for DRS-R-98 severity and total scale scores were both 0.99 (SVD: 203.74; SVD: 282.98, respectively). DRS-R-98 severity scores were correlated with MMSE (r=-0.87, p<0.001 for both raters). Internal consistency was high for the DRS-R-98 (Cronbachs' α=0.964). Cut-offscore of 16 for the DRS-R-98 total score had 100% sensitivity and 88.5% specificity, whereas 11 for the DRS-R-98 severity scale had 100% sensitivity and 85.7% specificity. Conclusion: We believe the DRS-R-98 Turkish version is a valid and reliable tool for clinicians and researchers.