Validation of the Portuguese version of the London Chest Activity of Daily Living Scale (LCADL) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients

INTRODUCTION: While there are several subjective English tools, such as the London Chest Activity of Daily Living scale (LCADL), aimed at assessing dyspnoea during activities of daily living (ADL) in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Di- sease (COPD), none of these questionnaires has ever been translated into Portuguese. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reproducibility of the LCADL's Portuguese version in patients with COPD. METHODS: 31 patients with COPD (17 male; 69+/-7 years; FEV1 44+/-15 %predicted) completed the Portuguese version of the LCADL twice with a 1-week interval. The traditional Saint George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), already validated in Portuguese, was used as the criterion method. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between test and retest of the LCADL. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient between test and retest concerning the different scale components was Self-care r=0.96; Domestic r=0.99; Physical r=0.92; Leisure r=0.95; Total Score r=0.98. There were significant correlations of the LCADL Total Score with the SGRQ's different components and total score (0.36<r<0.74; p<0.05 for all). The LCADL Total Score was also significantly correlated with the 6-minute walking distance test (r= -0.48; p=0.006). CONCLUSION: The Portuguese version of the LCADL is valid and reproducible in patients with COPD, making this study a new and important tool for assessing the limitations of performing ADL in this population.