OBJECTIVES:The following article presents the development of the Portuguese-language version of the "Clinician-Administered Rating Scale for Mania" (CARS-M) by Altman and collaborators. The objectives of the article are: 1. to describe the methodology used to prepare the Portuguese-language version of CARS-M 2. to transmit the impressions of professionals who have worked with it, and 3. to make the whole scale available in the Portuguese language. METHODS: The methods used were: a. bilingual panel to translate and discuss all items; b. a backtranslation by an able person; c. sending the author the new English version of the scale in its new English version developed from its translation into Portuguese and d. discussing the pending points with the author, and a new discussion among the members of the Brazilian group of researchers until they achieve a consensus. CONCLUSIONS:The authors' impression is that the EACA-M not only makes it easy to establish all scores, it also covers the broad spectrum of presentation of a maniac syndrome. With this article, the Portuguese-language scientific community will have a major instrument to evaluate a maniac state.
Bipolar disorders; mania; rating scales
