RELIABILITY OF A BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE TRANSLATED AND CROSS-CULTURALLY ADAPTED VERSION OF THE MJOA SCALE

ABSTRACT Objective: To assess the intra- and inter-observer reliability of a Brazilian Portuguese translated and cross-culturally adapted version of the mJOA questionnaire. Methods: The reliability of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the mJOA scale was assessed through the evaluation of a sample of patients with cervical myelopathy by two independent experienced spine surgeon examiners. Inter-observer reliability was defined by the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) between the evaluations of the two examiners, and intra-observer reliability was assessed by the ICC between the two evaluations of one examiner. Results: Fifty-five patients were included in the study (mean age 58.7 years). The ICC for inter-observer reliability of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the mJOA was 0.967, and the ICC for intra-observer reliability was 0.869, both classified as “almost perfect” (> 0.81). Conclusion: The Brazilian Portuguese translated and cross-culturally adapted version of the mJOA questionnaire appears to be valid and reliable. Level of evidence I, Diagnostic Studies, Investigating a Diagnostic Test.