Using a 0-10 Scale for Assessment of Anxiety in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction

Abstract

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other ajpect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, anxiety assessment instrument for widespread use, due in part to the unavailability of an easy-toadminister anxiety instrument that is not burdensome to either clinicians or critically ill patients.Objectives: To determine whether a single-item anxiety assessment instrument, the Anxiety Level Index (ALI), is a valid alternative to the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) or the anxiety subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) in assessing state anxiety for patients with AMI.Methods: In this prospective multi-center study, 243 inpatients with AMI rated their anxiety using the SAI, the anxiety subscale of the BSI, and the ALI. Anxiety Level Index scores were compared to SAI and BSI anxiety subscale scores using Spearman's rho test and the BlandAltman method.Results: There were moderate, positive correlations between the SAI and the ALI (r = .52, P < .001) and between the ALI and the anxiety subscale of the BSI (r = .45, P < .001). However, the Bland-Altman method revealed a moderate bias between the ALI and the SAI and between the ALI and the anxiety subscale of the BSI. As anxiety scores increased, the level of disagreement became more pronounced in both comparisons.Conclusions: Although ALI scores were moderately and significantly correlated with scores on the SAI and the BSI anxiety subscale, the results of the Bland-Altman method indicate a lack of construct validity of the single-item measure. The quest continues to construct a simple selfreport measure of anxiety that is appropriate for critically ill patients with AMI.

Evidence That the Brief Symptom Inventory Can Be Used to Measure Anxiety Quickly and Reliably in Patients Hospitalized for Acute Myocardial Infarction

“…The high correlation between BSI and SAI scores indicate that the 2 instruments were measuring the same phenomenon, which supports the criterionrelated validity of the BSI as a measure of anxiety. A strong correlation between the BSI and SAI was also reported in another study in which anxiety in patients hospitalized for AMI was measured early after admission, 30 providing additional evidence for the criterion-related validity of the BSI.…”

Assessing severity of epilepsy in children: Preliminary evidence of validity and reliability of a single-item scale

“…On the other hand, clinicians' ratings using single-item scales have demonstrated validity in assessing aspects such as rating of sedation by ICU nurses [27], quality of life and side effects of chemotherapy [28][29][30], anxiety in patients with myocardial infarction [31], perception of bladder condition [32], physical activity [33], depressed mood in anxiety disorders [34], dental anxiety [35], severity of dyspepsia symptoms [36], and quality of life and health utilities in epilepsy [37,38], as well as to assess seizure severity in children whose parents complete a single-item scale [39]. Our focus on the clinician's assessment of epilepsy severity stems from an interest in determining the role of neurologists' ratings of severity as one potential predictor of children's HRQL.…”

Is pre-hospital treatment of chest pain optimal in acute coronary syndrome? The relief of both pain and anxiety is needed

“…Previous studies indicate that anxiety is common in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) [48], as well as being difficult to estimate [49], and that symptoms of anxiety predict an increased risk of haemodynamic complications [50,51]. It has been shown that there is only a vague correlation between subjective and objective assessments of anxiety [48].…”