Burnt hand outcomes tool: Translation, adaptation and validation into Brazilian Portuguese

Introduction: In burn trauma, hands are often injured due to defensive action or proximity to the causative agent, leading to significant morbidity during a patients work and social rehabilitation process. In this context, the use of patient-reported outcome measures is a first step in measuring and improving these outcomes. The Burned Hand Outcome Tool (BHOT) is a specific questionnaire for adults with burned hands aimed at quantifying outcomes related to this trauma.

Objective: To translate, culturally adapt, and validate the BHOT into Brazilian Portuguese.

Methods: Following established standards in the literature, the original English questionnaire was translated, back translated, and analyzed by a panel of experts in the field. Cultural adaptation of the translation was carried out with a sample of target patients. The questionnaire was validated concurrently with the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) questionnaire translated into Portuguese, at three time points (0 h, 2 h, 48 h), with two different evaluators.

Results: The cultural adaptation was conducted on a sample of 30 adult patients with hand burns without the need for reassessment of the translated items. The questionnaire validation was carried out on a sample of 100 adult patients with hand burns. The Cronbach's Alpha found at the first time point was 0.936. The correlations between the questionnaires varied from 0.656 to 0.915.

Conclusion: The Burned Hand Outcome Tool has been translated, culturally adapted, and validated for a target population in Brazilian Portuguese.