Hypothesis / aims of study
Overactive bladder (OAB) is defined as the presence of urinary urgency with or without urgency urinary incontinence, frequency, and nocturia, in the absence of UTI or other pathology. Questionnaires are important subjective outcome measures that can help in monitoring patient symptoms, severity, guide treatment, and measure outcomes after treatment. Several questionnaires are available in English language with limited available validated Arabic version.
Aim: - To validate an Arabic version of the overactive bladder symptom score (OABSS) in a group of Saudi population
Study design, materials and methods
The English version of the 7-items overactive bladder symptom score (OABSS) was translated to Arabic by two certified translators then back-translated into English by two independent translators. The closest version to the original questionnaire was then reviewed and adjusted by two voiding dysfunction consultants. Then given a pilot of 20 patients for language clarity and adjusted further based on their suggestions to reach the final version. Urology resident asked to clarify the questions and options to the patient at the first visit, and then the questionnaire was offered to the same patients again to answer it within two weeks. Patients who had not completed the questionnaire or did not attend the retest sit were excluded. The internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha (α) and Spearman’s correlation coefficient (r) to assess test-retest results using SPSS 20.
Interpretation of results
One hundred and twenty-six patients completed the study with a mean age of 46.9 (Range 26-85).
92.9% of participants stated that the questionnaire was clear.
For non OAB score mean 19.1 +/- 6.3 vs. OAB score 24.5 +/- 6.5 (P=<0.001)
Both visit assessment with Cronbach’s alpha (α)=0.94 shows a high consistency level.
Spearman’s correlation coefficient (r)=0.88 for test-retest result for the total score of all domains.