The CUPAX questionnaire: Development and validation of a new scale for assessment of the functional level of elderly patients with a hip fracture.

Background And Aim: Hip fractures in elderly patients are very frequent and are associated with high morbidity and mortality. We do not have validated instruments in Spanish that can faithfully assess functional capacity prior to fracture. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the CUPAX questionnaire in elderly patients with a hip fracture.

Materials And Methods: Prospective and observational validation study. We included 215 patients older than 65 years, who were admitted to our centre after suffering a hip fracture. They were evaluated using the CUPAX questionnaire, Barthel Index and Parker Score. The statistical study was performed to corroborate the validity and reliability of the questionnaire.

Results: The median age of the patient population was 84.0 years (75.3% women). The majority were patients who had suffered an extracapsular fracture; they had walking capacity and suffered a fall in their place of residence. The statistical analysis on the validity and reliability of the questionnaire obtained the following results: Cronbach's alpha coefficient showed excellent internal consistency (value of .94). Factor analysis showed 3 underlying factors. The interobserver intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was .82 (95% CI:.75-.87), and the intraobserver ICC was .96 (95% CI:.95-.97). Correlation with other functional scales was assessed using the Spearman correlation coefficient, which was .83 with the Barthel Index and .81 with the Parker score.

Conclusions: These findings support the validity of the CUPAX questionnaire as a tool to measure the previous functional level in elderly patients affected by a hip fracture.