Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Turkish version of the sinus and nasal quality of life survey (SN-5)

OBJECTIVE: The Sinus and Nasal Quality of Life (QoL) Survey (SN-5) is a valid questionnaire that evaluates the QoL of the pediatric population associated with sinonasal diseases and symptoms. The aims of this study were to translate the SN-5 test to Turkish language (SN-5t), evaluate the internal consistency of the test and test-retest reliability and validate the translation for further use in studies in Turkish language. METHODS: In this prospective study, 50 healthy subjects and 50 patients, age between 2 and 12, with sinonasal symptoms prolonged over 1 month were included to the study. Families of healthy subjects were asked to fill the SN-5t twice with 1-week interval. The patient group completed test once prior the treatment and once 4 weeks after the treatment. Cronbach’s test was performed to test internal consistency and Spearman’s test was performed to evaluate test-retest validity. RESULTS: The median value of the pre-treatment tests of the patient group and control group was 25 (23–28) and 14.25 (12–16), respectively. A statistically significant difference was found between groups (p<0.001). Area under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve (A(roc)) value was calculated as 0.992 which stated the strong diagnostic accuracy, and the cutoff point was defined as 16.5. Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.75 was found. The Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient value (Spearman’s rho) was calculated as 0.946. CONCLUSION: The Turkish translation of the SN-5 is a consistent and valid test with high sensitivity and specificity that can be used in studies including Turkish speaking population.