Evaluation of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Impact on Quality of Life in Multiple Sclerosis Patients: Russian Translation and Validation of SF-Qualiveen

Arabic version of the SF-Qualiveen: cross-cultural adaptation, translation, and validation of urinary disorder-specific instruments in patients with multiple sclerosis

BACKGROUND

The Short Form Qualiveen (SF-Qualiveen) questionnaire assesses the effect of bladder and urinary symptoms on patients' quality of life (QoL) with urological impairment caused by neurological diseases. There is no validated SF-Qualiveen questionnaire in Arabic, so this study aims to provide a translated and validated version of the SF-Qualiveen questionnaire among Arabic-speaking patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

METHODS

The English version of the SF-Qualiveen was translated into Arabic using an algorithm for linguistic and cultural adaptation. MS patients completed the SF-Qualiveen, and the Neurogenic Bladder Symptom Score(NBSS) questionnaire. Psychometric features such as content and construct validity, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency were analyzed. Construct validity was evaluated by contrasting the SF-Qualiveen with the NBSS questionnaire. Internal consistency was measured using Cronbach's alpha, whereas the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was employed to assess the test-retest reliability.

RESULTS

One hundred and two patients with MS were included in this study. The internal consistency of the total SF-Qualiveen, and the domains "Bother with limitations," "Fear," "Feeling," and "Frequency of limitations" showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha of > 0.7). ICC was 0.91 for the total score 0.85 for the Bother with limitations, 0.81 for Fears, 0.86 for Feeling, and 0.81 for Frequency of limitations. The correlation analysis revealed a positive association between the total scores on the NBSS and the domains of the SF-Qualiveen, comprising bother with limitations (r = 0.473, p = 0.027), fears (r = 0.611, p = 0.031), feelings (r = 0.572, p = 0.04), and frequency of limitations (r = 0.514, p = 0.013).

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this validation study revealed that the SF-Qualiveen is a reliable and valid instrument appropriate for Arabic-speaking patients with MS in both research and clinical practice.

An instrument for assessing quality of life in persons with neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction: validation of the German short-form Qualiveen questionnaire

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective validation study.

OBJECTIVES

To validate and evaluate the measurement properties of the German Qualiveen short-form (SF) questionnaire in individuals with chronic neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) resulting from spinal cord injury (SCI).

SETTING

Tertiary neuro-urologic referral center in Switzerland.

METHODS

Fifty individuals with chronic (>12 months) NLUTD resulting from SCI presenting for a urodynamic follow-up examination were enrolled to complete both the full version Qualiveen and the SF-Qualiveen questionnaires twice within three weeks. The criterion validity and test-retest reliability were evaluated by calculating the interclass correlation coefficients. Internal consistency was evaluated by calculating Cronbach's alpha. Finally, the cross-sectional construct validity was evaluated using Spearman's rank correlations between the scores of the two questionnaires for bladder evacuation, urinary continence, and urinary tract infection sub-groups.

RESULTS

The mean age of the evaluated individuals was 53 years. The median duration of NLUTD was 14.9 years. The SF-Qualiveen showed good to excellent criterion validity with correlation coefficients greater than 0.8. Internal consistency was good overall and in the domains "bother with limitations" as well as "feelings" (>0.75). However, internal consistency in the domains "frequency of limitations" and "fears" was moderate-poor (0.68-0.37). The test-retest reliability was excellent with correlation coefficients greater than 0.9. Finally, the cross-sectional construct validity ranged from moderate to excellent (0.60-0.97).

CONCLUSIONS

The German SF-Qualiveen has shown excellent reliability and validity and variable internal consistency. Its brevity will increase compliance, and we therefore recommend to include the SF-Qualiveen in urologic assessments.