title: Validation of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) scale for oral chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD).
abstract: The aim of this study was to validate the 2005-2006 National Institutes of Health (NIH) scale for patient's self-reporting and clinical manifestations of oral chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). Numerical parameters of the NIH scale were analyzed for their construct validity (correlation of the NIH scale with numerical rating scale [NRS] for pain) and internal consistency reliability (correlation between different parameters of the same scale). Categoric parameters were analyzed by comparison between severity subgroups defined by the oral manifestation (lichenoid/erythema/ulceration). Analysis included data of 75 evaluations. The total NIH score and the NRS for pain were found to be moderately correlated (r=0.449). Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient was .718. Strong correlations were found between the total NIH score and both erythema and ulceration scores (r=0.746 and r=0.926, respectively). The difference between the 2 "severe" subgroups (ie, lichenoid and erythema/ulceration) was significant (P=.025). The difference between the moderate-erythema/ulceration subgroup and the severe-lichenoid subgroup was nonsignificant (total NIH score and NRS for pain: P=.276 and .291, respectively). The correlation between the total NIH score and the NRS for pain is only moderate. The internal consistency reliability analysis yielded good reliability, especially for erythema and ulceration. Analysis of categoric parameters suggests that the NIH scale disproportionately differentiates between moderate-erythema/ulceration and severe-lichenoid cGVHD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine, Hebrew University, Hadassah School of Dental Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel. sharon.elad@ekmd.huji.ac.il
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Elad
authors.forename: Itai
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zeevi
authors.forename: Reuven
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Or
authors.forename: Igor B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Resnick
authors.forename: Lilian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dray
authors.forename: Michael Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Shapira
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000145:classification* / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D009061:Mouth Mucosa; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D019242:Oral Medicine / Q000295:instrumentation*; D019226:Oral Ulcer / Q000209:etiology; D010146:Pain / Q000145:classification* / Q000209:etiology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult