Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Reflux Symptom Index

ABSTRACT Objective To validate and assess reliability of the Turkish Reflux Symptom Index (T-RSI). Study Design Cross-sectional case-control study. Materials and Methods A Turkish version of the original American English RSI was developed. One hundred thirty-two patients with a Reflux Finding Score (RFS) > 7, and 162 healthy controls (HC) with RFS ≤7 were included in the study. To assess reliability, the T-RSI was scored twice, within a 7–14 day window. For construct validity, the scores obtained in the study group were compared to the scores from the HC group. A correlation between RSI and RFS was assessed to determine content validity. Finally, sensitivity and specificity of the index was calculated using a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Results The T-RSI showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach`s α = 0.912). Item-total correlation coefficients ranged between 0.572 and 0.773. The Pearson product–moment correlation test indicated that the T-RSI is a reliable tool (r = 0.931, n = 107, P P Conclusion The T-RSI is an easily administered, reliable, and valid instrument for assessing symptoms thought to be related to laryngopharyngeal reflux. A score of T-RSI greater than 12.5 is similar to an RSI score of >13 considered symptomatic for laryngopharyngeal reflux.