Validation of the Bengali version of the Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (LANSS) pain scale: A tool for differentiating neuropathic and nociceptive pain

Pain management is crucial in treating chronic conditions, and screening for neuropathic pain is important due to its distinct management compared to nociceptive pain. Simple screening questionnaires play a key role in patient management and clinical research. This study aims to translate and adapt the English version of the Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (LANSS) pain scale into Bengali, followed by standard validation. The study was conducted in 2 phases. Four independent translators performed forward and backward translations of the English LANSS pain scale into Bengali. The Bengali version was finalized after expert committee reviews and cognitive debriefing. The final validation was carried out among 191 patients with chronic pain. In the last phase, the validity (construct, and discriminant validity) and reliability (interclass item-wise correlation coefficient) of the translated tool were evaluated. The Bengali version demonstrated a high reliability (α = 0.85 and rSB = 0.92). Exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure. ROC analysis showed the highest sensitivity (94.6%) and specificity (93.4%) at a cutoff value of 9.5. Additionally, the agreement between the clinical assessments and the Bengali version of the LANSS pain scale diagnosis indicated almost perfect agreement (κ = 0.84). The Bengali version of the LANSS pain scale exhibits high reliability and validity for assessing neuropathic pain in Bengali-speaking populations.