Background: The Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) scale is a symptom-specific, self-completed questionnaire for assessing quality of life related to nasal obstruction or its treatment in patients with septal deviation. The aim of this study was to validate the Spanish adaptation of the NOSE, thus allowing comparison across studies and international multicenter projects.
Methodology: Multicenter prospective instrument validation study. Guidelines for the cross-cultural adaptation process from the original English language scale into a Spanish language version were followed. The psychometric properties (reproducibility, reliability, validity, responsiveness) of the Spanish version ("NOSE-e" for "NOSE-espanol") were assessed in 58 consecutive patients undergoing septoplasty (both before and 3 months after surgery) and 58 matched asymptomatic controls.
Results: Test-retest reliability and internal consistency reliability were adequate. The NOSE-e demonstrated satisfactory construct validity. Positive correlations between the NOSE-e scores and the score of a visual analog scale measuring the subjective sensation of nasal obstruction were found. The instrument showed excellent between-groups discrimination and high response sensitivity to change.
Conclusions: The Spanish version of the NOSE (NOSE-e) is a valid tool for measuring the subjective severity of nasal obstruction, and its use is recommended.