Danish translation of the Neck Dissection Impairment Index

BACKGROUND: Shoulder pain and impairment are known complications to neck dissections (NDs) as part of the surgical management of head and neck cancer (HNC). The Neck Dissection Impairment Index (NDII) is a validated shoulder function-related quality-of-life instrument and an important patient reported outcome measure after head-neck surgery. The correct translation of questionnaires into other languages is important for both individual assessment of patients and future research.

AIMS: Translation of the NDII into Danish.

METHODS: The NDII was translated from English into Danish using forward and backward translational procedures. Pilot-testing was performed on the pre-final version of the translated questionnaire.

RESULTS: Pilot-testing found the translation easily comprehensible, but a few changes were made to improve language flow.

CONCLUSIONS: NDII was successfully translated into Danish using forward and backward translations. Further validation on a larger scale is warranted.

SIGNIFICANCE: NDII is an important aid to identifying patients with impairments and optimize the aftercare following ND for HNC. Translation of validated questionnaires into other languages is important for future research and international comparison of surgery outcome.