Assessment instruments for lower urinary tract dysfunction in children: Symptoms, characteristics and psychometric properties

The use of instruments to assess symptoms of the lower urinary tract has increased mainly when it comes to pediatric urology. The search for a validated and reliable one for use in clinical practice should be a concern of the professionals involved in the care of these children. The aim of this study was to analyze the assessment instruments for lower urinary tract dysfunction in children regarding: symptoms, characteristics and psychometric properties. PubMed and Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences databases were searched. The PICO strategy was used to construct the research question and bibliographic search. Keywords included voiding disorders, LUTS, Child, Surveys and Questionnaires. Nine articles were identified. The construct observed by all instruments was bladder dysfunction and seven instruments also assessed bowel dysfunction. Thirty different events were addressed. In eight instruments the respondents are the parents. The age of the target population ranged from three to eighteen years and regarding the number of items, an average of 21.8 items was observed. Six instruments showed good results of reliability and four presented good results of accuracy. The instruments included a wide range of symptoms related to dysfunction. Only two reported all validation and reliability tests, however six instruments showed good reliability results, making them eligible for the cross-cultural adaptation and validation process for use in countries other than those of the instrument's origin.