Validation of a symptoms questionnaire for benign prostatic hyperplasia

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Medical Informatics
• Clinical Research

Background:

• Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) significantly impacts quality of life.
• Accurate assessment of BPH symptoms is crucial for effective management.
• Existing assessment tools may require refinement for specific therapeutic evaluations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a modified questionnaire for assessing BPH symptoms.
• To evaluate the questionnaire's discriminant validity, responsiveness, and reproducibility.
• To establish the tool's utility in clinical settings for BPH symptom evaluation.

Main Methods:

• A modified Boyarsky questionnaire was administered to BPH patients (pre- and post-TURP) and control groups.
• Cohort study design involving 5 distinct patient and volunteer groups.
• Statistical analyses included discriminant validity, responsiveness (pre- vs. post-TURP), reproducibility (test-retest), and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha).

Main Results:

• The questionnaire showed significant discriminant validity, differentiating BPH patients from controls.
• Responsiveness was demonstrated by a significant symptom score improvement after transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP).
• High reproducibility (kappa > 0.75, ICC = 0.64), construct validity (r = 0.7), and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ≈ 0.6) were confirmed.

Conclusions:

• The developed questionnaire is a validated and reliable tool for assessing BPH symptoms.
• The tool is sensitive to changes in BPH symptoms, particularly after interventions like TURP.
• This questionnaire offers a useful method for clinicians to evaluate BPH symptom severity and treatment effects.