title: The Italian version of the lower extremity functional scale was reliable, valid, and responsive.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the measurement properties of an Italian Version of the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) in patients with lower extremity musculoskeletal dysfunction.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a prospective methodological study of repeated measures with a sample of 250 consecutive patients. Reliability, validity, and responsiveness were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Italian version of the LEFS showed a high degree of internal consistency with a Cronbach alpha of 0.94 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.91, 0.96). The test-retest reliability was high for both intra-interviewer and inter-interviewer measures with an ICC((2,1 and 2,k)) of 0.91 (95% CI: 0.86, 0.93) and 0.89 (95% CI: 0.83, 0.91), respectively. The LEFS showed a better correlation with the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) physical component summary score rather than with the SF-36 mental component summary score both at the initial assessment (r=0.61 and 0.26, respectively) and at the discharge (r=0.72 and 0.22, respectively). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed a large responsiveness for the LEFS (area under the curve [AUC]=0.97) and a moderate responsiveness for the SF-36 (AUC=0.68).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Italian version of the LEFS is a valid, reliable, and responsive tool that can be used to measure function in Italian patients with lower extremity musculoskeletal dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, University of Roma La Sapienza, p.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy. angelo.cacchio@tin.it <angelo.cacchio@tin.it>
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cacchio
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Blasis
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Necozione
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.forename: Daniel L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Riddle
authors.forename: Ferdinando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: di Orio
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Blasis
authors.forename: Valter
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Santilli
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D035002:Lower Extremity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires