Translation, cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of Yoruba version of the short-form 12 health survey

Background. Short Form 12 (SF-12) health survey has found its utility in clinical and research settings because of its short length that spares time. Though several translations into other languages do exist there is none available in Yoruba language. Hence, this study’s objective was to culturally adapt and determine the reliability and validity of the Yoruba translated version of the SF-12. Methods. Forward and backward translations of SF-12 into Yoruba version of SF-12 (Y-SF-12) were done using the International Quality of Life Assessment Project Guidelines. Healthy participants were assessed using both English and Yoruba versions of SF-12 for the validation phase, and two weeks later were reassessed with the Y-SF-12 for the reliability phase. Results. Participants were 225 males and 171 females. The mean scores for each scale range from 73.4 to 86.1, with no gender difference. All scale and domain scores evidenced a negative skew and ranges from -1.79 to -0.62. Concurrent validity (0.879 – 0.938) and convergent validity (0.786 – 0.907) appeared to be good as reflected by their correlation values. The internal consistency of Y-SF-12 was good as Cronbach’s Alpha ranged between 0.899 and 0.968, while the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) ranged between 0.775 and 0.949. Conclusion. This is the first study to assess the psychometric properties of the Y-SF-12. It appears to be valid and may be an appropriate tool for assessing health-related quality of life among Yoruba population. The tool may help to improve the health outcomes of individuals, and redress health inequalities in low and middle-income countries

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified