Validation of the Slovakian Version of the "Post‑acute (Long) COVID‑19 Quality of Life Instrument" and Pilot Study

Romana Ulbrichtova; Peter Vysehradsky; Alica Bencova; Maria Tatarkova; Oto Osina; Viera Svihrova; Henrieta Hudeckova

doi:10.2147/PPA.S404377

Validation of the Slovakian Version of the "Post‑acute (Long) COVID‑19 Quality of Life Instrument" and Pilot Study

Patient Prefer Adherence. 2023 Apr 26:17:1137-1142. doi: 10.2147/PPA.S404377. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Romana Ulbrichtova¹, Peter Vysehradsky¹, Alica Bencova², Maria Tatarkova¹, Oto Osina³, Viera Svihrova¹, Henrieta Hudeckova¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in Bratislava, Martin, 036 01, Slovakia.
² Outpatient Clinic of Pneumology, Senium Medica, Martin, 036 01, Slovakia.
³ Clinic of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in Bratislava, Martin, 036 59, Slovakia.

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of our study was to validate a Slovakian translation of the PAC‑19QoL instrument among Slovakian patients with post COVID-19 syndrome.

Patients and methods: The PAC-19QoL instrument was translated into the Slovakian language and administrated to patients with post COVID-19 syndrome. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to analyse the internal consistency of the instrument. Construction validity was evaluated by using Pearson's correlation coefficient and Spearman's rank correlation. Scores of patients and controls were compared using Mann-Whitney U-test.

Results: Forty-five asymptomatic and forty-one symptomatic participants were included. Forty-one patients with post COVID-19 syndrome completed the PAC-19QoL and EQ-5D-5L questionnaires. PAC-19QoL domain scores were significantly different between symptomatic and asymptomatic participants. All items achieved a Cronbach alpha greater than 0.7. There was a significant correlation between all domains on the test (p < 0.001), with the highest correlation of Total (r = 0.994) and Domain 1 (r = 0.991). Spearman's rank correlation analysis confirmed that the instrument items correlated with the objective PAC-19QoL examination findings.

Conclusion: The Slovakian version of the instrument is valid, reliable and can be a suitable tool for research and daily clinical practice among patients with post COVID-19 syndrome.

Keywords: EQ-5D-5L; PAC-19QoL; post COVID; quality of live; validation.

Grants and funding

This manuscript is produced with the support of the Integrated Infrastructure Operational Program for the project ‘New possibilities for the management of serious diseases in medical and preventive care with regard to the safety of health professionals’, ITMS: 313011AUA5, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.