A comparison of a patient-rated visual analogue scale with the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for social anxiety disorder: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), used to assess the severity of social anxiety disorder (SAD), requires considerable effort and time to complete. The aims of this study were: 1) to investigate whether a visual analogue scale (VAS) could be linear with the LSAS and substitute for the LSAS, 2) to relate such a VAS instrument to patient demographics. Methods: Fifty SAD patients were assessed using the LSAS and VAS instruments completed by both patients and doctors at the same session. We then drew distributions and calculated the Spearman's ρ and κ coefficient values (divided at the median for each scale) between patient and doctor assessments. Next, each pair among the scores for the LSAS, the patient VAS and the doctor VAS was compared using Wilcoxon rank sum tests according to patient life profile data. Results: Scatter plots of pairs of scores were obtained. Spearman's ρ was 0.661 between the LSAS and the patient VAS, 0.461 between the LSAS and the doctor VAS, and 0.494 between VAS scores of patients and doctors. The κ coefficients were 0.501 between the LSAS and patient VAS, 0.251 between the LSAS and doctor VAS, and 0.425 between patient VAS and doctor VAS (for all six, p < 0.001). The Wilcoxon rank sum tests indicated a significant difference between the groups with/ without

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Chinese Version of the 5D Itch Scale in Taiwanese Elderly

“…In 1969, Aitken first used VAS to measure a patient"s dyspnea degrees. Later on, this tool has been broadly applied to assess different health problems, including the severity of pruritus (Okitsu, Sawamura, Nishimura, Sato, & Ishigooka, 2014). The respondents of this scale are asked to select a point on a continuous line between 0 mm to 100 mm to represent their pruritus, and then the distance from 0 to the selected point is measured to assess the degree of pruritus.…”

Comparing the Treatment Outcomes of Absorbable Sutures, Nonabsorbable Sutures, and Tissue Adhesives in Cleft Lip Repair: A Systematic Review

“…The primary outcome most frequently and reliably reported was post-op cosmesis, measured via the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Visual Analog Scale was first described in 1921 and referred to at the time as a "graphic rating method" (Okitsu et al, 2014). They are psychometric response scales used to measure subjective characteristics or attitudes and have been used in the past for a multitude of disorders, as well as in market research and social science investigations, among others.…”

“…A significant difference favoring cosmesis of nonabsorbable suture group was seen in abnormal pigmentation measured at 3 months and 1 year (P ¼ .002, .010, respectively); hypertrophic scar measured at 3 months and 1 year (P ¼ .008, .036); and abnormal scar pliability measured at 3 months (P ¼ .021). In the trial by Datarkar et al (2014), wound healing cosmesis was measured via100-mm VAS (Okitsu et al, 2014) and reported to be more favorable in the nonabsorbable suture group compared to the resorbable suture group. This difference was, however, not statistically significant (P > .05).…”

“…Wound healing cosmesis. Spauwen et al (2006) reported wound healing cosmesis measured by both the parents and the professional via the 100-mmVAS (Okitsu et al, 2014). There was no significant difference between the overall cosmetic result of medical adhesive (81.33; 65.12) and resorbable sutures (80.87; 64.9) judged by both parents and professionals, respectively (P ¼ .922, .983, respectively).…”