Korean Version of the painDETECT Questionnaire: A Study for Cultural Adaptation and Validation

The purpose of this study was to adapt the painDETECT Questionnaire (PD-Q) into a Korean version (KPD-Q) and validate it.

A single-center prospective observational study was performed. During the first phase of the study, linguistic adaptation was carried out to develop the KPD-Q. During the second phase of the study, feasibility, internal consistency, discriminant validity, and concurrent validity were assessed for psychometric validation of the KPD-Q.

A total of 232 patients participated. Among them, 82 patients (35%) were classified in the neuropathic pain (NeP) group, 80 (34%) in the nociceptive pain group, and 70 (30%) in the mixed pain group. Regarding the reliability of the KPD-Q, internal consistency for the whole scale was 0.804, as evaluated by Cronbach's alpha. Pearson's correlation between the Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs scale and the KPD-Q scores was positive and statistically significant (r = 0.74, P < 0.001). Similar to the result obtained by the original developers, a value of ≥ 19 points suggested a clear diagnosis of the presence of an NeP component with 95.4% sensitivity, 73.8% specificity, and 0.737 Youden index. We used ≤ 13 (as opposed to ≤ 12, as suggested previously) as an alternative cutoff value, which showed a sensitivity of 95.4%, specificity of 73.8%, and the Youden index of 0.691.

The KPD-Q showed good psychometric and discriminant features for assessing the neuropathic component in chronic pain patients. We hope that this newly validated KPD-Q will be recognized in Korea as a credible tool for detection of NeP and thus may be used in further international clinical research.