Development and Validation of Symptom Score for Total Bladder-Bowel Dysfunction: Subscales for Overactive Bladder and...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Urology
• Diagnostic Tools
• Clinical Assessment

Background:

• Nonneurogenic bladder-bowel dysfunction is common in children.
• Accurate diagnosis is crucial for effective treatment.
• Validated questionnaires aid in identifying these conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the validity and reliability of a long-standing bladder-bowel questionnaire.
• To assess its diagnostic accuracy for bladder-bowel dysfunction in pediatric patients.
• To evaluate its utility in identifying specific conditions like overactive bladder and dysfunctional voiding.

Main Methods:

• The bladder-bowel questionnaire, comprising 13 questions, was administered to 139 healthy children and 134 children with diagnosed bladder-bowel dysfunction.
• Validity and reliability were assessed using established psychometric methods, including sensitivity, specificity, and internal consistency.
• Responsiveness to treatment was evaluated in 80 patients post-intervention.

Main Results:

• The total bladder-bowel dysfunction score effectively discriminated between affected children and healthy controls (AUC 0.96, sensitivity 94%, specificity 89%).
• Subscales accurately identified overactive bladder and dysfunctional voiding.
• The questionnaire demonstrated excellent validity and reliability, and responsiveness to clinical change after treatment.

Conclusions:

• The bladder-bowel questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument for diagnosing bladder-bowel dysfunction in children.
• It is also effective in identifying overactive bladder and dysfunctional voiding within this population.
• The questionnaire can track clinical improvement over time.