The psychometrics
of a linear analogue and a numeric scale have been evaluated
in a population with end-stage renal disease (Brunier
and Graydon, 1996), and both verbal rating scales
and numeric scales have been incorporated into a number of symptom
checklists (de
Haes et al., 1990; McCorkle
and Young, 1978; Portenoy
et al., 1994). These simple scales presumably provide
a global measure of fatigue severity. Several alternative approaches
also have been widely used. The quality of life measure created
for the European Organization for Research and Treatment of
Cancer (EORTC), the EORTC QLQ-C30, has a three-item subscale
for fatigue (Were you tired?, Have you felt weak?, Did you need
a rest?-each categorized on a four-point verbal rating scale)
that has been translated into numerous languages and may be
used apart from the rest of the instrument (Aaronson
et al., 1993). Like the nine-item Fatigue Severity
Scale (Krupp
et al., 1989) and the vigor/fatigue subscale of the
Profile of Mood States (POMS)(Cella
et al., 1987), the EORTC scale also appears to capture
global fatigue severity. Although an older scale, the Pearson-Byars
Fatigue Checklist can yield the same result and has been used
in studies of cancer patients; its validation was performed
in a healthy population and its use has been supplanted by newer
measures (Pearson
and Byars, 1956).