Reliability of a Thai Version of the International Prostate
Symptom Score (IPSS) for the Thai Population
Kullanan Nontakaew MD*,
Wachira Kochakarn MD*, Kittinut Kijvika MD*,
Wit Viseshsindh MD*, Chatchawan Silpakit MD**
Affiliation :
* Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
** Department of Psychology, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
Objective : To develop and test the reliability of a Thai version of the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS-Th).
Material and Method: A Thai version of the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS-Th) was developed after conducting
many steps. The original English version of the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) was translated into Thai by
three urologists working independently. After having compared the original English version with various translations, the
final Thai version was obtained. Fifty Thai males possessing a good understanding of both English and Thai were asked to
complete the Thai version of the IPSS. Two weeks later, they were asked to complete the English version of the IPSS. Internal
consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. Next, 118 Thai males were tested using the Thai version of the IPSS and
retested after two weeks. As such, the reliability of the Thai version of the IPSS was evaluated using the test-retest method.
Results : For the Thai IPSS version, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.77 and the English version of the IPSS was 0.88. The test-retest
reliability was 0.96.
Conclusion : The Thai version of the IPSS was found to be reliable and should be a useful tool for patient assessment,
follow-up, and research in the population of Thai-speaking patients.
Keywords : IPSS, Thai version, Prostate symptom score
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