Validation and Application of MD Anderson Symptom Inventory Module for Patients with Bladder Cancer in the Perioperative Setting

Objectives: We developed and validated a disease-specific tool for perioperative patient-reported outcomes assessment for bladder cancer (BLC) patients undergoing radical cystectomy, The MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (the MDASI-PeriOp-BLC). Methods: Patients who underwent radical cystectomy were recruited. We used qualitative interviews and experts’ input to generate disease/treatment-specific items of the MDASI-PeriOp-BLC module; conducted item reduction; examined the psychometric properties of the resultant items for reliability, validity, and clinical interpretability; and conducted cognitive debriefing interviews to assess the tool’s performance. Results: A total of 150 BLC patients contributed to psychometric validation. We identified and defined eight BLC-specific module items (blood in urine, leaking urine, frequent urination, urinary urgency, burning with urination, constipation, changes in sexual function, and stomal problems). We included those 8 items in addition to 13 MDASI core symptoms and 6 interference items to form the MDASI-PeriOp-BLC module. Cronbach alphas were 0.89 and 0.90 for the 21 severity items and the 6 interference items, respectively. Test–retest reliability (intra-class correlation) was 0.92 for the 21 severity items. The MDASI-PeriOp-BLC module significantly differentiated the patients by performance status (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: The MDASI-PeriOp-BLC is a valid, reliable, and concise tool for monitoring symptom burden during perioperative care in BLC patients undergoing radical cystectomy.