The Italian version of the Coma Recovery Scale for Pediatrics

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Neurology
• Neurorehabilitation
• Clinical Assessment Tools

Background:

• The Coma Recovery Scale for Pediatrics (CRS-P) is adapted from the CRS-R, a gold standard for assessing disorders of consciousness (DOC) in adults.
• The CRS-P evaluates behavioral responses to diagnose Coma, Vegetative State, Minimally Conscious State (MCS), and Emerged Minimally Conscious State (E-MCS) in pediatric patients.
• Existing guidelines recommend the CRS-R for pediatric use, highlighting the need for validated assessment tools in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To translate and culturally adapt the Coma Recovery Scale for Pediatrics (CRS-P) into Italian for use with Italian children.
• To assess the conceptual, semantic, and content correspondence of the preliminary Italian CRS-P version with the original scale.

Main Methods:

• The CRS-P underwent translation by two independent translators to ensure linguistic accuracy.
• Cultural adaptation was performed to align the scale with the Italian pediatric population.
• The preliminary Italian version was compared to the original CRS-P for conceptual, semantic, and content equivalence.

Main Results:

• A high degree of conceptual correspondence was found between the original and the preliminary Italian CRS-P.
• Semantic equivalence was established, ensuring the translated terms accurately reflect the original meanings.
• Content correspondence confirmed that the items in the Italian version cover the same domains as the original scale.

Conclusions:

• The preliminary Italian version of the CRS-P demonstrates strong equivalence to the original scale.
• The Italian CRS-P is suitable for further testing and validation in Italian pediatric populations.
• This adapted scale will facilitate accurate diagnosis and management of disorders of consciousness in children in Italy.