Sensitivity to Change of Subdomain Question 6 of the Urogenital Distress Inventory Short Form After Sling Removal for Pain

Objective: To determine the sensitivity to change of question 6 (Q6) of the modified short form version of the Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6) before and after synthetic sling removal (SSR). Methods: Following IRB approval, a prospectively maintained database of mid-urethral sling (MUS) complications identified women with UDI-6 Q6 data before and after SSR. Q6 were compared pre- and postoperatively and against patient self-report of pain in women undergoing -SSR for pain (SSR-P) and in a control group when pain was not the primary indication for SSR (SSR-C). Women with missing pre-SSR or insufficient (<6 months) follow-up measures of pain were excluded. Three hypotheses were tested. (1) Correlation of Q6 scores with patients’ self-reported pain pre- and post-SSR, (2) Higher pre-SSR Q6 scores in the SSR-P group than in the SSR-C group, and (3) Decrease in Q6 scores in the SSR-P group. Results: Between 2005 and 2017, 116 of 435 women referred to our institution met study criteria. Q6 scores were significantly (P <.0001) associated with self-reported pain with increasing likelihood of self-reporting pain as Q6 score increased. Mean pre-SSR Q6 scores in SSR-C (n = 42) was 1.0 ± 1.2 while mean pre-SSR Q6 scores in SSR-P (n = 74) was 2.3 ± 1.1 (P <.0001). Mean improvement in Q6 score after SSR was −0.19 ± 1.2 (P = 0.3) in SSR-C and -0.88 ± 1.4 (P <0.0001) in SSR-P. Conclusion: In women undergoing SSR for MUS-related complications, Q6 scores were correlated to self-reported pain and responsive to surgical intervention for pain relief.