Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Screen (BDI-FS): an efficient tool for depression screening in patients with end-stage...

Depression is common in patients suffering from end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Various screening tools for depression in ESRD patients are available. This study aimed to validate the Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Screen (BDI-FS) with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) as depression screening tool in conventional hemodialysis (CHD) patients. One hundred sixty two CHD patients were studied with both screening questionnaires. We used the Pearson Correlation Coefficient to measure the agreement between BDI-II and BDI-FS scores from 134 patients who responded to both questionnaires. Receiver operating characteristics curve and area under the curve were constructed to determine a valid BDI-FS cutoff score to identify ESRD patients at risk for depression. BDI-II and BDI-FS scores strongly correlated (Pearson r = 0.85, p < 0.0001). At a BDI-II cutoff ≥16, receiver operating characteristics showed the best balance between sensitivity and specificity for the BDI-FS cutoff value of ≥4 with a sensitivity of 97.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 85.5%, 99.9%) and a specificity of 91.8% (95% CI: 84.5%, 96.4%). When applying the above cutoff scores, prevalence of depressive symptoms in all completed questionnaires was found to be 28.7% (BDI-II) and 30.1% (BDI-FS), respectively. The BDI-FS was found to be an efficient and effective tool for depression screening in ESRD patients which can be easily implemented in routine dialysis care.