Psychometric Evaluation of the Serbian Version of the Southampton Dupuytren’s Scoring Scheme in Patients with Dupuytren’s Contracture

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: Dupuytren's contracture is a chronic fibroproliferative disorder of the palmar fascia that leads to progressive flexion deformities and functional impairment. The Southampton Dupuytren's Scoring Scheme (SDSS) is a disease-specific patient-reported outcome measure designed to quantify disability in this condition. This study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Serbian version of the SDSS. <b>Methods</b>: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Institute for Orthopedic Surgery "Banjica", Belgrade, from January 2024 to March 2025. Sixty-eight patients with Dupuytren's contracture completed the Serbian SDSS, the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire, the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), and a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain. Translation followed standardized forward-backward procedures. Internal consistency was assessed with Cronbach's alpha, construct validity with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and convergent validity with Pearson's correlation coefficients. <b>Results</b>: The Serbian SDSS demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.914). CFA supported a unidimensional five-item structure with strong factor loadings (0.76-0.93) and acceptable fit indices (χ² = 10.094, df = 5, <i>p</i> = 0.073; IFI = 0.979; CFI = 0.978; TLI = 0.956). Convergent validity was confirmed by strong correlations with DASH (r = 0.779) and VAS (r = 0.702) and a strong negative correlation with SF-12 PCS (r = -0.802). <b>Conclusions</b>: The Serbian SDSS is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing functional disability in patients with Dupuytren's contracture and offers a robust, patient-centered measure for clinical and research use.