Objective:

To develop and validate a simple self-administered questionnaire to evaluate ureteral stent discomfort.

Material & Methods:

A pilot instrument based on the USSQ was designed and structured using the Delphi method. It was applied to 72 patients with an indwelling ureteral stent after semirrigid ureteroscopy. The instrument was validated through the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and Pearson’s correlation coefficient.

Results:

The ureteral stent discomfort test (USDT) utilizes a Likert scale model, with 6 domains: 1-urinary symptoms, 2-pain, 3-daily life, 4-sex life, 5-medical care / use of analgesics and 6-quality of life 6, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1 items, respectively. The more severe the symptoms, the higher the score, with a maximum score of 61 points. Validation studies made the questionnaire internally consistent (Cronbach 0.820) with good reliability (Pearson 0.850). The correlation of urinary symptoms (r = 0.929, p = 0.00), pain (r = 0.880, p = 0.00), daily life (r = 0.625, p = 0.00), quality of life (r = 0.768, p = 0.00) of both questionnaires was statistically significant. UDT application time (m = 1.8min SD = 0.76) VS USSQ (m = 8.3min SD = 0.76) was shorter than for the USSQ (m = 8.3min SD = 0.76).

Limitants:

The small sample size was a restriction. More patients are required to demonstrate the usdt’s effectiveness.

Value:

The questionnaire is an easy-to-use tool for the simple evaluation of ureteral stent discomfort.

Conclusions:

The USDT is a simple and rapid tool, comparable to the USSQ, for evaluating ureteral stent-related symptoms.