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The interstitial cystitis symptom index and problem index
M P O'Leary1, G R Sant, F J Fowler
1Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Urology
|May 1, 1997
Summary
Two new self-administered indices effectively measure lower urinary tract symptoms and their impact in interstitial cystitis (IC) patients. These tools demonstrate good psychometric performance and are valuable for evaluating and managing IC, especially in clinical trials.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Patient-Reported Outcomes
- Clinical Assessment
Background:
- Interstitial cystitis (IC) presents with challenging lower urinary tract symptoms.
- Accurate measurement of IC symptoms and their impact is crucial for patient management and research.
- Existing assessment tools may lack brevity or comprehensive validation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate two brief, self-administered indices for measuring lower urinary tract symptoms.
- To assess the impact of these symptoms on patients diagnosed with interstitial cystitis (IC).
- To provide reliable outcome measures for clinical trials in IC.
Main Methods:
- Development and refinement of initial questions through focus groups.
- Validation of revised indices in patients with diagnosed interstitial cystitis (N=45) and healthy controls (N=67).
- Evaluation of internal consistency, construct validity, and test-retest reliability.
Main Results:
- The IC Symptom Index and IC Problem Index were developed.
- Both indices effectively measure urinary and pain symptoms and their perceived problem level in IC patients.
- The symptom index showed excellent ability to differentiate between IC patients and controls.
Conclusions:
- The developed indices are valuable tools for evaluating and managing patients with interstitial cystitis (IC).
- These indices offer reliable, validated, and reproducible outcome measures critical for clinical trials.
- Their use can enhance the assessment of new therapies for interstitial cystitis.