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Validation of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale
V T Chang1, S S Hwang, M Feuerman
1Section Hematology/Oncology, VA New Jersey Health Care System at East Orange, 07018, USA.
Cancer
|May 17, 2000
Summary
The Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) is a valid tool for assessing cancer patient symptoms. Its distress score reflects physical well-being, with good reliability over short periods.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Palliative Care
- Psychometrics
Background:
- The Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) is a visual analogue scale for symptom assessment in palliative care.
- Validation in diverse patient populations is crucial for its widespread applicability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate the ESAS in a new patient cohort.
- To assess the ESAS's reliability and correlation with other established measures.
Main Methods:
- A prospective study involving 240 cancer patients who completed ESAS, MSAS, FACT, and KPS assessments.
- A test-retest validation with 42 additional patients over one week.
Main Results:
- ESAS distress score strongly correlated with physical symptom subscales (FACT, MSAS) and Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS).
- ESAS demonstrated good internal consistency and item correlation with FACT and MSAS.
- Test-retest reliability was high at 2 days, decreasing slightly but remaining significant at 1 week.
Conclusions:
- The ESAS is a valid instrument for this patient population.
- ESAS distress score serves as a reliable indicator of physical well-being.
- A 30-mm visual analogue scale cutoff may not universally identify severe symptoms beyond pain.
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