Test-retest Reliability of the BREAST-Q IS in the Australian Breast Device Registry.

BACKGROUND Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROM) are increasingly used in healthcare to assess outcomes. The BREAST-Q Implant Surveillance (BREAST-Q IS) is a 5-question Patient Reported Outcome Measure (PROM) used by the Australian Breast Device Registry (ABDR) to monitor the performance of breast devices. Validation of this tool is needed to assess its utility in this setting. OBJECTIVES The objective of our study was to assess the test-retest reliability of the BREAST-Q IS among breast implant recipients within a registry setting. METHODS A test-retest reliability study was undertaken. Patients who had breast augmentation or breast reconstruction and registered with the ABDR were eligible to participate. Two hundred and fifty surveys were distributed. The BREAST-Q IS was administered to the same group of participants on two separate occasions with a 2-week test interval. Participants were divided into two groups, breast augmentation and breast reconstruction. A weighted kappa coefficient was calculated to assess the degree of test-retest reliability of the BREAST-Q IS. RESULTS Two hundred and seven participants completed both tests. Response rate was 82% (n=113) for the breast augmentation group and 94% (n=94) for the breast reconstruction group. All 5 questions on the BREAST-Q IS obtained weighted kappa scores above 0.74 among both groups. CONCLUSIONS The BREAST-Q IS has good-to-excellent test-retest reliability for use among breast implant recipients in a registry setting. Further validation of the BREAST-Q IS will be required to establish the BREAST-Q IS as a valid and reliable PROM tool for breast implant recipients following breast device surgery.