Reliability of Thai version Boston questionnaire.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the reliability of the Thai version Boston questionnaire. SETTING: Hospital-based electrodiagnosis laboratory, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The Boston questionnaire is the severity rating instrument for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). It consists of 11 items of symptom severity scores (SSS) and eight items of functional severity scores (FSS). CTS patients, confirmed by electrodiagnosis, were evaluated by the Thai version Boston questionnaire. The reliability was assessed by internal consistency using Chronbach's alpha coefficient. RESULTS: Thirty-one subjects (4 male and 27 female) enrolled in the present study. Among these, six were classified as mild, nine as moderate, and 16 as severe CTS. Chronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.86 and 0.84 in SSS and FSS, respectively. CONCLUSION: Thai version Boston questionnaire is reliable to measure hand symptoms and disabilities due to carpal tunnel syndrome.