Validation and Clinical Application of the Turkish Version of the RhinoQOL Questionnaire in the Setting of Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyp Patients

OBJECTIVES: Validation of the translations of questionnaires from foreign languages is important. Failure to validate surveys can lead to misapplication. METHODS: A total of 64 patients who presented with nasal obstruction due to chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps and 64 control subjects were included in this prospective instrument validation study. Translation and back-translation method was used to adapt the Rhinosinusitis quality of life (RhinoQOL) into Turkish. The test and retest reliability, internal consistency, reproducibility, construct validity, and sensitivity to change were assessed. RESULTS: The mean±SD test and retest scores were similar in the control group. Cronbach correlation coefficients were 0.872, 0.873, and 0.959 for the test and were 0.799, 0.725, and 0.885 for the retest scores for the frequency, bothersomeness, and impact domains. Post-operative scores were significantly higher than pre-operative scores obtained for each domain of the RhinoQOL questionnaire in the patient group (p<0.001). Pre-operative scores for frequency, bothersomeness, and impact domains were significantly lower than the corresponding average test and retest scores for each domain in the control group (p<0.001), whereas other than significantly higher bothersomeness scores in patient versus controls (p=0.018), no significant difference was noted between post-operative scores and average test and retest scores. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrated that the Turkish translation is equivalent to the English version of RhinoQOL in terms of internal consistency, test and retest reliability, and construct validity, with good responsiveness to change and thus potential utility in the assessment of post-operative outcome.