Evaluation of a German version of the tonsil and adenoid health status instrument

BACKGROUND To create and validate a German version of the Tonsil and Adenoid Health Status Instrument (TAHSI) for evaluation of tonsillectomy outcome in adult patients with chronic or recurrent tonsillitis. SUBJECTS AND METHODS 46 healthy volunteers were assessed twice in a 6 week interval with the TAHSI questionnaire. Their results were compared with 45 patients suffering from chronic tonsillitis before tonsillectomy and 6 months following surgery. For internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha was calculated; to identify normal score values, the optimum cutoff between healthy and diseased individuals was identified with receiver operating characteristic analysis; and responsiveness was assessed using Guyatt's Responsiveness Index (GRI). RESULTS Cronbach's alpha for all questions was 0.92. Test- retest intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.89 (95% confidence interval 0.80-0.94 p < 0.001). Mean score for the healthy individuals was 7.0 (95% confidence interval 4.2-9.7). The optimum cut off score between healthy and diseased was 20 with a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 90% to differentiate controls from tonsillectomy patients. CONCLUSION The TAHSI performed well in this validation tests and is considered a favorable instrument to evaluate the effectiveness of tonsillectomy in adults with chronic or recurrent tonsillitis.