Translation and validation of the Chinese version of the Current Opioid Misuse Measure (COMM) for patients with chronic pain in Mainland China

BACKGROUND: Management of prescription opioids misuse and abuse problems among chronic pain patients has been increasingly important worldwide and little literature concerning prescription opioids can be found in mainland China so far. METHODS: The Current Opioid Misuse Measure (COMM) was translated into Chinese following Brislin’s model of cross-culture translation and was completed by a convenience sample of 180 patients with chronic pain recruited from two major hospitals in Jinan, Shandong province. Data were analyzed using internal consistency, test-retest reliability, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. RESULTS: The internal consistency coefficient for the total score of the COMM was 0.85 and item-total correlations of all items were above 0.20. Besides, the test-retest reliability was satisfactory with an ICC of 0.91 (95 % CI = 0.65-0.98). Four principal components were extracted, accounting for 65.30 % of the variance, and the factor loadings of all 17 items were above 0.40. CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese version of COMM showed satisfactory reliability and validity, and could be used as a screening tool to evaluate and monitor current aberrant drug-related behavior among Chinese patients with chronic pain.