Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of an Arabic Version of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society Score (AOFAS)

CATEGORY: Ankle INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE: The evaluation process is essential to optimize the management of patients with foot and ankle pathologies and disorders. The study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the four scoring systems of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society Score (AOFAS) into Arabic and explore related psychometric properties. METHODS: A multicenter observational design was used, following the forward-backward translation method. One hundred and twenty patients with foot and ankle problems were included. Construct validity and test-retest reliability were analyzed using Intra-class correlation coefficients; internal consistency was analyzed with Cronbach’s alpha, and the responsiveness was analyzed using a paired-sample test. RESULTS: The validity ranged from 0.303-0.542 and from 0.018-0.753 when correlated to the SF-12 physical and mental component scores, respectively. Test-retest reliability ranged from 0.727-0.974; from 0.826-0.983 for internal consistency and from 0.001-0.182 for sensitivity. CONCLUSION: The AOFAS’s four systems were successfully translated and culturally adapted into Arabic with sufficient psychometric properties.