Translation and validation of the Portuguese version of the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ) bladder diary

Introduction and hypothesis: The International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ) Bladder Diary (BD) is a standardized and validated diary, developed in the English language, designed to assess lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in men and women. This study reports the translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation process of this diary to the Portuguese language. Methods: After translation and back-translation of the ICIQ-BD to Portuguese, 140 urologic patients were asked to fill in this 3-day diary as well as the Overactive Bladder questionnaire Short Form (OABqSF) and a questionnaire evaluating the difficulties in filling out the ICIQ-BD. A subset of 60 patients filled out a second diary with/without LUTS treatment in between (30 patients in each group). In addition, content validity, internal consistency, criterion and construct validity were tested. Results: The Portuguese version of the ICIQ-BD showed adequate internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha of 0.78), and patients reported few difficulties in filling out this tool, answering most commonly 1 on a 1–6 scale of difficulty. Excellent test-retest reliability and responsiveness of the diary were observed when comparing the first diary to a second completed 2–6 weeks later. Criterion validity was also confirmed, given the good correlation with the OABqSF (Pearson’s 0.386–0.447). Finally, construct validity was established through statistically significant concordance between data obtained in the BD with generally accepted theories. Conclusion: The present version of the ICIQ-BD is the first bladder diary successfully validated in the Portuguese language. It is a suitable and standardized tool for scientific research and diagnostic assessment of LUTS in adult men and women.