Objective

To translate and linguistically validate in classical Arabic the French version of the neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD).

Material/patients and methods

The Arabic translation was obtained using the “forward translation/backward translation” method. Multiple sclerosis patients and spinal cord injury patients were included. Clinical measures involved the evaluation of the intestinal and anorectal dysfunction. Patients were asked to respond to a questionnaire twice within a 15-day interval. An item-by-item analysis was conducted. Construct validity was investigated using the spearman rank correlation coefficient. The internal consistency of each factor was assessed by the Cronbach alpha coefficient.

Results

Twenty-three patients with colorectal disorders secondary to neurological disease were included, the average age was 40.79 ± 9.16 years and the sex ratio was 1.85. The questionnaire was feasible and acceptable, no items were excluded. The Spearman correlation was of 0.842. Internal consistency was judged as good through the Cronbach’s alpha which was of 0.896.

Discussion – conclusion

The Arabic version of NBD was reproducible and construct validity was satisfactory. The study of sensitivity to change with a larger number of patients will be the subject be further work.