[Facial Disability Index and Facial Clinimetric Evaluation Scale: validation of the German versions]. / Facial Disability Index und Facial Clinimetric Evaluation Skala: Validierung der Deutschen Versionen.

BACKGROUND: A validated instrument to measure patient-related outcome and quality of life in facial palsy is not available in German language. METHODS: 2 appropriate questionnaires, the Facial Clinimetric Evaluation (FaCE) scale and the Facial Disability Index (FDI) were translated and validated according to international guidelines. The internal consistency of both German versions was assessed. The results of FaCE and FDI were correlated with results of the SF-36, the House-Brackmann scale and the Stennert index. RESULTS: 122 facial palsy patients with a median duration of 4.7 months were included. FaCE and FDI showed good to very good psychometric characteristics with Cronbach's alpha values between 0.667 and 0.907. Both questionnaires were able to distinguish different degrees of facial palsy. The comparison to the SF-36 shows the highest correlation with the subscale social function. DISCUSSION: The German versions of the FDI and FaCE are valid and should now be applied more frequently to assess the disease-specific quality of life in patients with facial palsy.