Adaption of the "Empty Nose 6 Item Questionnaire" (ENS6Q) into German language

Objective The English "Empty-Nose-6-Item-Questionnaire" (ENS6Q) is a validated tool to assess subjective and disease-specific complaints of patients suffering from empty nose syndrome. The aim of this study was to create a validated German adapted version (GAV) of the ENS6Q. Material and Methods The ENS6Q was translated into German language using a multistage process. Subsequently the translated questionnaire was completed twice by a group of patients suffering from empty nose syndrome (n = 36), a healthy control group (n = 77) and a group of patients with a symptomatic pathology of the nasal septum (n = 78). Additionally, the NOSE (c) questionnaire was completed twice by all groups. The ENS6Q was then examined regarding internal consistency, test-retest reliability, discriminant validity, sensitivity and specificity. Results The ENS6Q-GAV shows high internal consistency with Cronbachs alpha = 0,760 and alpha = 0,795. It also shows good test-retest reliability with an interclass correlation coefficient of 0,947 [0,930 - 0,961]. The ENS6Q-GAV discriminated significantly between empty nose syndrome patients and the control group. The receiver-operating characteristics curve showed a sensitivity of 83,3 % and a specificity of 88,3 % using a cut-off point of 8,5. The area-under-the-curve threshold score was 0,914 +/- 0,029 [0,856 - 0,971]. Conclusions The ENS6Q-GAV is the first validated disease-specific questionnaire in German to help identify patients suspected of developing ENS more reliably.