Reliability and validity of nociception coma scale-revised (NCS-R) in patients with disorders of consciousness

Objective To assess the pain of patients with disorders of consciousness(DOC) and evaluate the reliability and validity of Chinese version of Nociception Coma Scale- revised (NCS-R). Methods Sixty-two patients with disorders of consciousness were assessed by NCS-R and the internal reliability, inter-rater reliability, test-retest reliability and concurrent validity was analyzed. Results Cronbach's alpha (α) of internal reliability was 0.611, test-retest reliability for the NCS-R total scores by spearman was 0.884.For the subscales, the reliability for the motor, verbal and facial subscale scores by Cronbach's kappa were 0.856, 0.870 and 0.856 respectively.Inter-rater reliability for the NCS-R total scores by spearman was 0.662.For the subscales, the reliability for the motor, verbal and facial subscale scores by Cronbach's kappa were 0.962, 0.867 and 0.671 respectively.The spearman coefficient of concurrent validity was 0.560 (all P<0.01). Conclusion The NCS-R is a good valid scale and available for Chinese clinician and researchers to assess the pain of DOC patients. Key words: Nocieption coma scale-revised; Pain assessment; Disorders of consciousness; Reliability and validity