Development and Validation of the Bronchoscope Quality Questionnaire for Assessing Bronchoscopists' Perception of Single-Use Flexible Bronchoscope Quality.

Introduction: The risk of cross-infections (including SARS-CoV-2) and damage to the flexible bronchoscope has led to the development of single-use flexible bronchoscopes as a cost-effective alternative. It is necessary for the bronchoscopist to evaluate the perception of the quality of these devices to determine if their quality is satisfactory for the user. The objective of this study was the construction and validation of a Bronchoscope Quality Questionnaire (BQQ) to evaluate the quality of the flexible bronchoscope perceived by the bronchoscopist.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in 21 pulmonology centres in Spain. A first version of the BQQ was carried out by a group of experts, the construct validity was evaluated, and a factor analysis reduced the number of items. Feasibility of the BQQ was assessed by a questionnaire, internal consistency by the Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and intra- and interrater reliability by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

Results: The final version of the BQQ was composed of six domains and 18 items. The median completion time was 5 min, and it was not difficult to understand the items. Cronbach's alpha was 0.89, the intrarater ICC was 0.70 (95% CI: 0.56-0.79), and the interrater ICC was 0.64 (95% CI: 0.47-0.76).

Conclusion: The BQQ showed good feasibility, internal consistency, and intra- and interrater reliability, which makes it suitable for evaluating the quality of flexible bronchoscopes perceived by the bronchoscopist.