Evaluation of a gastrointestinal symptoms questionnaire

Questionnaires are widely used instruments to monitor gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. However, few of these questionnaires have been formally evaluated. We sought to evaluate our GI symptoms questionnaire in terms of clarity and reproducibility. Primary care patients referred for open access Helicob...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Digestive diseases and sciences 2006-09, Vol.51 (9), p.1509-1515
Main Authors: BOVENSCHEN, H. J, JANSSEN, M. J. R, VAN OIJEN, M. G. H, LAHEIJ, R. J. F, VAN ROSSUM, L. G. M, JANSEN, J. B. M. J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Breath Tests
Dyspepsia - diagnosis
Dyspepsia - epidemiology
Dyspepsia - physiopathology
Feeding. Feeding behavior
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen
Gastrointestinal Diseases - diagnosis
Gastrointestinal Diseases - epidemiology
Gastrointestinal Diseases - physiopathology
Helicobacter Infections - diagnosis
Helicobacter Infections - epidemiology
Helicobacter pylori
Humans
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Other diseases. Semiology
Reproducibility of Results
Risk Factors
Sensitivity and Specificity
Stomach. Duodenum. Small intestine. Colon. Rectum. Anus
Surveys and Questionnaires
Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
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Summary:Questionnaires are widely used instruments to monitor gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. However, few of these questionnaires have been formally evaluated. We sought to evaluate our GI symptoms questionnaire in terms of clarity and reproducibility. Primary care patients referred for open access Helicobacter pylori urea breath testing reported GI symptoms (type+severity) and demographic information by written questionnaire. In an interview, patients gave a personal description of the meaning of the GI symptoms on the questionnaire. Patients' descriptions of GI symptoms were compared with current definitions. Symptom severity scores were compared before and after, interview versus questionnaire. Of the 45 patients included, 19 (42%) described all symptoms correctly, whereas 17 (38%) described one symptom incorrectly. None of the patients made more than three mistakes. Regurgitation was the most common incorrectly described symptom (16 patients [36%]), whereas the other individual symptoms were well explained. Symptom severities before the interview, after the interview and reported by questionnaire (mean value+/-SEM) were 2.1 +/- 0.2, 2.1 +/- 0.2, and 1.5 +/- 0.2 points on a 7-point Likert scale (0-6), respectively. Mean severity reported by interview (95% CI) was 1.4 (1.3-1.5) times higher than reported by questionnaire (P < .05). In conclusion, the GI symptom questionnaire is understandable and has good reproducibility for measuring the presence of GI symptoms, although symptom severity is consistently rated higher when reported by interview.
ISSN:0163-2116
1573-2568
DOI:10.1007/s10620-006-9120-6