Feasibility, reliability, and validity of the Japanese version of the Postoperative Quality of Recovery Scale: a first pilot study

The Postoperative Quality of Recovery Scale (PQRS) is a multi-domain tracking scale to assess recovery after surgery. The PQRS is used in seven countries and five languages; however, the Japanese version of the PQRS (PQRSj) has not been established. We therefore translated the PQRS into Japanese, and examined the feasibility, reliability and validity of the PQRSj. The time taken to complete the test was measured to assess feasibility. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to assess reliability. The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Japanese version of the Quality of Recovery Scale 40 (QoR-40 J) were performed for comparison with the PQRSj (validity). Fifty-one patients were enrolled in the study. The mean completion time was 3.9 min for baseline (feasibility). Cronbach’s alpha was between 0.40 and 0.94 in each domain (reliability). A relationship was shown between cognitive domain and MMSE at baseline (r = 0.65, P < 0.01); however, no relationship was found between the other domains and the MMSE and QoR-40 J. Ceiling effects were observed in 78 % of the questions. These results indicate that the PQRSj can be used to assess recovery after surgery, although it may be better to revise some of the questions to improve the validity of the PQRSj.