Psychometric Arabic Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22: validation and translation in chronic rhinosinusitis patients

BACKGROUND: The Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT)-22 has multiple items that reflect how nasal disease affects quality of life. Currently, no validated Arabic version of the SNOT-22 is available. OBJECTIVE: To develop an Arabic-validated version of SNOT-22. DESIGN: Prospective. SETTING: Tertiary care center. PATIENT AND METHODS: This single-center validation study was conducted between 2015 and 2017 at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The SNOT-22 English version was translated into Arabic by the forward and backward method. The test and retest reliability, internal consistency, responsiveness to surgical treatment, discriminant validity, sensitivity and specificity all were tested. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Validated Arabic version of the SNOT-22. RESULTS: Of 265 individuals, 171 were healthy volunteers and 94 were chronic rhinosinusitis patients. The Arabic version showed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s of 0.94), and the ability to differentiate between diseased and healthy volunteers (P<.001). The translated versions demonstrated the ability to detect the change scores significantly in response to intervention (P<.001). CONCLUSION: This is the first validated Arabic version of SNOT-22. The instrument can be used among the Arabic population. LIMITATIONS: No subjects from other Arab countries.