Arabic translation and validation of Pelvic Pain and Urgency/Frequency (PUF) Patient Symptom Scale

Background The Pelvic Pain and Urgency/Frequency Patient Symptom Scale is a screening tool used to diagnose patients with chronic pelvic pain. Numerous articles demonstrated the efficacy of the Pelvic Pain and Urgency/Frequency Patient Symptom Scale, not only as a screening tool, but additionally for complete assessment and management process. Therefore, in this article we aim to translate the Pelvic Pain and Urgency/Frequency Patient Symptom Scale from English to Arabic and then to validate the translated version using an innovative technique that compares the original English version to a back-translated version. Results Using back-translation method, the comparability of the language and similarity of the interpretation for each item of Pelvic Pain and Urgency/Frequency Patient Symptom Scale were validated. The back-translated version showed seemingly dependable results and demonstrates an almost identical meaning to the original English version. There was no difference found statistically in the median or mean scores for all items between the English and Arabic back-translated versions. The multi-staged process we followed thoroughly and the results obtained during this process ensured the validity of the Arabic version of the Pelvic Pain and Urgency/Frequency Patient Symptom Scale. Conclusions The current study provides that the Arabic version of Pelvic Pain and Urgency/Frequency Patient Symptom Scale is proven to be a valid tool in the assessment of Arabic-speaking patients with painful bladder syndrome or interstitial cystitis.