Translation, cultural adaptation and validation of a Spanish version of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Severity Score.
BACKGROUND
the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Severity Score (IBSSS) is a questionnaire only available in English that classifies IBS patients according to the severity of their symptoms and can be used to guide and monitor the treatment.


OBJECTIVE
to adapt and validate into Spanish the English version of the IBSSS questionnaire.


METHODS
the Spanish version of the questionnaire was obtained through a process of translation-evaluation of the comprehensibility and back translation. In a later phase we evaluated the applicability(n = 15), reproducibility (n = 31) and sensitivity to change (n = 40) of the Spanish version of the questionnaire. Finally we evaluated an alternative version of the ISBSS using a numerical scoring system instead of the original analog visual scale (n = 40).


RESULTS
the Spanish version of the IBSSS showed an excellent reproducibility (r = 0.81 for global score) and an adequate sensitivity to change: a decrease of 45 points or more identified worsening of IBS with a 70.6% sensitivity and 87.5% specificity; an increase of 45 points or more identified improvement of IBS with a 85.7% sensitivity and 87.5% specificity. The severity score was practically the same regardless of the scoring system used (r = 0.96).


CONCLUSIONS
the Spanish version of the IBSSS is a reproducible tool that is able to identify relevant changes over the course of the disease. The use of a numerical scoring system is a valid alternative to the visual scale that improves the applicability of the questionnaire to situations when the written communication is limited or not possible.
Unit of Functional Digestive Disorder, Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital Clínico San Carlos. School of Medicine, Universidad Complutense, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria, Hospital Clínico San Carlos (IdISSC), Madrid, Spain.
Cristina
C
Almansa
Raquel
R
García-Sánchez
Marta
M
Barceló
Manuel
M
Díaz-Rubio
Enrique
E
Rey
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014175:Translating; D055815:Young Adult