[Adaptation of the "Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation" (NOSE©) questionnaire in the German language]

The standardized and validated English NOSE© questionnaire is used to assess subjective complaints of nasal obstruction. The aim of our study was to create and validate a German version of the NOSE© questionnaire.

The original questionnaire was translated into German in multiple steps. The English back translation was sufficiently similar to the original questionnaire. Next, the translated questionnaire was completed twice each by a group of patients with symptoms of nasal obstruction (n = 76) and a group of nose healthy test persons (n = 104). Subsequently, the questionnaire was tested for internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity, discriminant validity and sensitivity to change. Additionally, it was examined whether the rhinomanometric results of the patient group correlated with their questionnaire scores.

The created German NOSE questionnaire had high internal consistency with an average result of Cronbach's α ≥ 0.8. The test-retest reliability was also satisfactory with Goodman-Kruskal-γ = 0.826. The discriminant validity showed significant differences between the patient and control group. Furthermore, sensitivity to change was high. The patients' rhinomanometric results before operation did not correlate with the corresponding NOSE questionnaire Scores.

The study showed that the created German Version of the NOSE© questionnaire (NOSE GAV) is a valid method for assessment of subjective nasal obstruction. It can be used throughout German-speaking areas without restriction.