The German Version of the ‘ICIQ Vaginal Symptoms Questionnaire’ (German ICIQ-VS): An Instrument Validation Study

Abstract

Introduction: No validated questionnaire that evaluates vaginal symptoms is currently available in the German language. Here, we report the translation and validation process of the German ICIQ-VS. Subjects: Pilot study: 10 patients without any specific disease. Main study: 58 patients (cases) suffering from genital descensus higher than grade 1 pelvic organ prolapse quantification (POPQ) and 51 patients (controls) without vaginal affections. Methods: To establish a cultural-adaptive equivalent in German, recommendations from Guillemin et al. [J Clin Epidemiol 1993;46:1417–1432] were carefully followed. Participants of the main study were asked to fill in the questionnaire at three time points [baseline (T1), 7 days later (T2) and 1 year later (T3)]. Reliability, validity and sensitivity to change were evaluated. Results: In our pilot study, all questionnaire items were correctly interpreted and answered. In the main study, no changes from the original format were observed after translation and cultural adaptation. For the cases, internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach’s alpha 0.72–0.79) and test-retest reliability was moderate to near-perfect for single items (weighted kappa 0.67–0.94). Sensitivity to change and content validity were excellent. Construct validity revealed statistically significant differences between groups. Conclusion: The ICIQ-VS has successfully been translated and validated into the German language.

Sexual Impairment in Women Undergoing Laparoscopic Surgery for Genital Prolapse: A Hospital-Based Cohort Study

“…urinary leakage during intercourse) seems to be reproducible. In another study (a small group of sexually active patients and controls; n = 12), we had analysed the sexual scores on the ICIQ-VS prospectively over the period of 1 year and found results similar to the ones reported here [27].…”

Potential relevance of pre-operative quality of life questionnaires to identify candidates for surgical treatment of genital prolapse: a pilot study

“…On the other hand, the usefulness of quality of life questionnaires for selecting patients who could derive benefit from surgery has already been demonstrated [23]. Recently, several reports have demonstrated the very good psychometric properties of quality of life questionnaires to evaluate the impact of genital prolapse with a Cronbach's alpha greater than 0.70 for all items, confirming that questionnaires are able to detect changes in quality-of-life after treatment [24,25]. However, to our knowledge, no study has attempted to assess the contribution of quality of life questionnaires specific to genital prolapse to identify good candidates for surgery.…”

Bladder and Bowel Symptoms Among Adults Presenting With Low Back Pain to an Academic Chiropractic Clinic: Results of a Preliminary Study

“…49 These instruments perform well in individuals of varying ages, genders, patient groups, settings, and diagnoses. [50][51][52][53][54][55] Responses to questions are presented in a variety of forms, including fill-in-the-blank and categorical multiple choice. For this study, we modified the ICIQs into a shortened version, the CSQ, to decrease the length of administration time and also included questions on low back pain to focus on the following 5 domains of interest.…”