Affiliations: Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal (FH), Fachbereich
Angewandte Humanwissenschaften, Rehabilitationspsychologie B.Sc. und M.Sc | Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Klinik
für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie | Vivantes Humboldt-Klinikum Berlin, Nephrologie | Klinik für Nephrologie,
Universitätsklinikum Essen, Universität Duisburg- Essen
Abstract: The BSI-18, a short version of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI;
Franke, 2000), was first published in the year 2000 (Derogatis). It consists of
the three six-item-scales Somatization (in which one item of the full version
was eliminated), Depression, and Anxiety of the BSI, and a global score including all 18 items. 409 kidney-transplanted patients of the University
Hospital, Essen were routinely assessed by a tool of questionnaires assessing
health-related quality of life and psychosocial aspects (SF-36, BSI,
F-Sozu-K22). 246 (60.1%) of the patients were male and 163 female (39.9%), mean
age was 49.7 years (standard deviation=12.5, range 20–76). Kidney
transplantation dated back on average 81 months (SD=56, range 1–330);
354 patients (67%) were transplanted once, 41 (10%) twice, 11 (3%) thrice and
four (1%) more than thrice. The psychometric investigations analyzed reliability and validity of the BSI-18. Analyses of reliability revealed only a small loss of internal consistency. BSI-18 is a useful short screening tool
measuring routinely salient psychological distress in kidney-transplanted patients. Early detection of salient psychological distress can support
provision of adequate medical-psychological intervention; this may enhance
health-related quality of life in medium term, and may help reducing financial
costs in the health-care system.
