Background and purpose: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a multidimensional symptom cluster induced by neurotoxic chemotherapy agents among patients with cancer. A well-developed tool for assessing CIPN can help with the early detection and timely management of patients. This study assessed the reliability and validity of the Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy Assessment Tool (CIPNAT) in Korean women with breast cancer who were treated with chemotherapy.
Methods: A psychometric analysis of the Korean version of CIPNAT was conducted with 207 patients with breast cancer who were treated with chemotherapy. Patients were assessed using the CIPNAT and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy-20 (CIPN-20). Analyses of internal consistency reliability, concurrent validity, and construct validity (based on structural and discriminant validity testing) were performed to evaluate the psychometric properties.
Results: The Korean version of the CIPNAT had good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.95; the item-total correlation coefficients ranged 0.34-0.76). The CIPNAT and CIPN-20 were moderately correlated (r = .67). Confirmatory factor analyses showed a four-factor structural model with acceptable model fit indices. Discriminant validity was supported by differences between individuals treated with and without taxane-based chemotherapy (p < .001).
Implications for practice: The Korean version of the CIPNAT was a valid and reliable screening tool for identification of CIPN symptoms and functional interference in Korean women who received chemotherapy for breast cancer. The instrument can be useful for the timely and routine assessment of CIPN symptoms and functional limitations of patients with cancer by oncology nurses.
Keywords: chemotherapy; peripheral neuropathy; reliability; validity.
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