The Incontinence Outcome Questionnaire: an instrument for assessing patient-reported outcomes after surgery for stress urinary incontinence

Abstract

The aim of this study is to develop and psychometrically test a questionnaire (Incontinence Outcome Questionnaire, IOQ) for assessing quality of life (QOL) after surgery for stress urinary incontinence that can be used as a single measurement after the intervention. A total of 171 patients who underwent the tension-free vaginal tape (TVT/TVT-O) operation for stress urinary incontinence completed the King s Health Questionnaire (KHQ), the Short Form-12 (SF-12) and the IOQ. The internal consistency, internal and external validity and responsiveness of the IOQ were tested. The IOQ-QOL subscale showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.83) and significant correlations with the KHQ and the SF-12 scales (r=0.30-0.56). Partial correlations with objective parameters showed a significant relation for the IOQ-QOL subscale with objective continence/incontinence. The results of our study suggest that the IOQ is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing QOL after incontinence surgery and can be used if baseline or pre-operative data are unavailable.

Patient satisfaction after retropubic and transobturator slings: first assessment using the Incontinence Outcome Questionnaire (IOQ)

“…Patient compliance was excellent as in the original publication, with less than 4 % missing data [14].…”

“…Up to now, no long-term data for acceptability, reliability and validity of the IOQ were available [14].…”

“…In order to evaluate QoL and postoperative patient satisfaction without preoperative baseline data, a specific one-point measurement instrument is needed. Therefore, a detailed 27-item Incontinence Outcome Questionnaire (IOQ), validated for the German language, was constructed to assess patientreported outcome and QoL after insertion of a midurethral tape [14]. The IOQ is considered as a valid and reliable instrument when baseline or preoperative data is unavailable because of the partial correlation with objective clinical parameters such as continence.…”

Quality of life and objective outcome assessment in women with tape division after surgery for stress urinary incontinence

“…The IOQ was specifically designed for outcome evaluation after midurethral sling operations and is validated for postoperative assessment of QoL after surgical treatment for SUI. Higher scores indicate worse treatment outcome [17]. The FSFI is a validated 19-item questionnaire for assessment of female sexual function.…”

Patient‐reported outcomes and urinary continence five years after the tension‐free vaginal tape operation

“…The IOQ is a 27‐item, condition‐specific instrument for a one‐point QoL assessment after treatment after surgical procedures for SUI. It has been psychometrically evaluated in patients with stress incontinence 16. The patient‐reported scale contains 27 questions related to symptoms, complications, different domains of QoL and satisfaction, problems with urinary incontinence before surgery and demographic and treatment‐related information.…”