Translation and Validation of Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality of Life Scale for Hindi-Speaking Population

Background: The Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality-of-life Scale (PANQOL) was specifically developed for assessing the quality of life (QOL) in patients with vestibular schwannoma (VS). Its utility has been established in many populations, but it has not been validated for use in India. Objective: The objective of this study was to translate PANQOL into Hindi and validate it for use in India. Materials and Methods: PANQOL was translated into Hindi by using the standardized procedure. Its conceptual equivalence was established by administering. For validation, PANQOL-Hindi and SF-36 were administered to 78 patients aged above 18 years and recently diagnosed to have VS. Test-retest reliability was established by readministering PANQOL-Hindi on 15 patients after 2 weeks. Results: Internal consistency was good for the composite scale (α = 0.87). The Cronbach's alpha for all domains except facial dysfunction was in an acceptable range. Intercorrelations between various domains showed that anxiety and energy were strongly correlated. All domains except pain had a strong correlation with the total PANQOL score. The intraclass correlation coefficient test indicated high test-retest reliability for the composite scale (ICC = 0.97; 95% CI, 0.93-0.99). Test-retest reliability for various domains was also good. The construct validity of PANQOL was assessed by correlating its specific domains with SF-36 domains. The meaningful correlations between domains of PANQOL and SF-36 indicated good construct validity. Conclusions: PANQOL-Hindi has been adequately translated and has satisfactory psychometric properties.