(1) To adapt the Community Oriented Program for the Control of Rheumatic Disease (COPCORD) Core Questionnaire (CCQ) for use as a rheumatic screening instrument among Kuwaitis, including translation, back translation, assessment of cross cultural equivalence, and reliability. (2) To determine the screening characteristics of the Arabic version of the CCQ for detecting rheumatic diseases compared to clinical examination by a rheumatologist.
Translation and assessment of cross cultural equivalence were undertaken using standard methods. Back translation was done by an Arabic-speaking rheumatologist. Interviewer agreement was assessed using a convenience sample. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were assessed first by administering the CCQ followed by full clinical examinations of a randomly selected sample of 359 Kuwaiti persons aged 15 years or older.
(1) Cross cultural equivalence and back translation of the translated questionnaire were satisfactory. Interviewer agreement was acceptable. (2) The prevalence of rheumatic diseases based only on CCQ screening was 69% compared to 73% based on clinical examination. The sensitivity and specificity of the Arabic CCQ were 94.4% and 97%, respectively, and the positive and negative predictive values of the instrument were 98.8% and 86.4%, respectively.
The Arabic version of the CCQ appears promising as a screening tool to detect rheumatic diseases in Arabic speaking communities. The findings suggest that the Arabic CCQ followed by clinical examinations in positive respondents can provide an acceptable estimate of prevalence of rheumatic diseases. We intend to use this instrument to screen for the prevalence of rheumatic diseases among Kuwaiti nationals.