The role of the Acute Cystitis Symptom Score questionnaire for research and antimicrobial stewardship. Validation of the Hungarian version

INTRODUCTION: The Acute Cystitis Symptom Score (ACSS) is a new self-reporting tool to evaluate the symptoms of uncomplicated acute cystitis (AC) in women. The linguistic and clinical validation process of the Hungarian version used in this study may serve as a guide for the validation of the ACSS in other languages. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, women with AC (Patients) and those without (Controls) filled in the Hungarian ACSS version, during their visits to physician's office. Statistical analysis included ordinary descriptive values, calculation of reliability, validity, discriminative ability, responsiveness (sensitivity, specificity) and comparative analysis. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients were recruited for validation along with 37 controls. Statistical analyses resulted in excellent values of internal consistency, discriminative ability and validity for diagnosis of AC. At the cut-off at a score of 6 in the ‘typical’ domain, positive and negative predictive values were 97% and 92%, sensitivity and specificity were 90% and 97%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The ACSS has demonstrated benefits for diagnosis and patient-reported outcome assessment. It is objective, fast, and cost-effective, and may help to easily confirm the accurate diagnosis of AC. Therefore, it may be especially important for clinical and epidemiological studies on AC in women.