[Validation of the abbreviated Zarit scales for measuring burden syndrome in the primary caregiver of an elderly patient].

OBJECTIVE: To determine which abbreviated Zarit Scale (ZS) better evaluates the burden of the caregiver of an elderly patient in Medellin, Colombia.
DESIGN: Validation study.
SETTING: Primary Care setting in the city of Medellin. PARTICIPANTS: Primary caregiver of dependent elderly patients over 65 years old. PRINCIPAL MEASUREMENTS: Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for the different abbreviated Zarit scales, plus performing a reliability analysis using the Cronbach Alpha coefficient.
RESULTS: The abbreviated scales obtained a sensitivity of between 36.84 and 81.58%, specificity between 95.99 and 100%, positive predictive values between 71.05 and 100%, and negative predictive values of between 91.64 and 97.42%.
CONCLUSIONS: The scale that better determined caregiver burden in Primary Care was the Bedard Screening scale, with a sensitivity of 81.58%, a specificity of 96.35% and positive and negative predictive values of 75.61% and 97.42%, respectively.