| Literature DB >> 15606914 |
Sybil Hirsch1, Timothy L Frank, Jonathan L Shapiro, Michelle L Hazell, Peter I Frank.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Identification and treatment of unrecognised asthmatics in the community is important for improving the health of the individual and minimising cost and quality of life burden. It is not practical to offer clinical diagnostic assessment to whole communities, and a simple tool such as a questionnaire is required to identify a smaller target group. Conventional questionnaire screening methods which separate individuals into positive and negative categories have resulted in large numbers of individuals requiring clinical assessment. This study has therefore developed and tested a weighted scoring system that prioritises those most urgently in need, based on their questionnaire responses.Entities:
Mesh:
Year: 2004 PMID: 15606914 PMCID: PMC545076 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2296-5-30
Source DB: PubMed Journal: BMC Fam Pract ISSN: 1471-2296 Impact factor: 2.497
Weights associated with each question on the questionnaire
| Question Number | Variable based on question | Scoring system weights |
| 1 | *Age (16 – 34 years) | 3 |
| 1 | *Age (35 – 54 years) | 2 |
| 1 | *Age (55 – 74 years) | 1 |
| 2 | Sex male | 1 |
| 3 | **Wheeze in last 12 months | 3 |
| 3.1 | Breathless whilst wheezing | 0 |
| 3.2 | Wheeze in absence of cold | -1 |
| 4 | **Woken by chest tightness in last 12 months | 1 |
| 5 | **Woken by shortness of breath in last 12 months | 0 |
| 6 | **Woken by night cough in last 12 months | 0 |
| 7 | Asthma attack last 12 months | 2 |
| 8 | Currently taking asthma medication | 1 |
| 9 | **Family history of asthma | 1 |
| 10 | **Hayfever/eczema ever | 1 |
| 11 | Smoker | -1 |
* Age was aggregated into 4 categories. The 4th age category (>= 75) years is excluded from the model because it is dependent on the other 3
** Key variables used in simple scoring of 'yes' answers to key questions
Positive predictive value estimates for weighted scoring applied to all respondents to 1995 postal survey (n = 6825)
| Threshold Score | Number of individuals above threshold | Number eligible for review (no asthma diagnosis) | Undiagnosed individuals expected to be diagnosed clinically asthmatic | |
| Number | ||||
| 11 | 76 | 13 | 12 | |
| 10 | 178 | 33 | 31 | |
| 9 | 335 | 80 | 75 | |
| 8 | 577 | 195 | 161 | |
| 7 | 891 | 394 | 310 | |
| 6 | 1289 | 715 | 437 | |
| 5 | 2098 | 1427 | 678 | |
| 4 | 3332 | 2592 | 769 | |
| 3 | 4667 | 3874 | 894 | |
| 2 | 5769 | 4938 | 929 | |
| 1 | 6524 | 5670 | 933 | |
| All respondents | 6825 | 5964 | 934 | |
Percentage of individuals with threshold scores or higher who were found clinically asthmatic in the 2001 validation set (n = 126)
| Threshold Score | Number of individuals above threshold | Median age (years) | Majority verdict asthma or mixed disease | |||
| Number | ||||||
| 11 | 11 | 33 | 10 | 90.9 | ||
| 10 | 32 | 40.5 | 28 | 87.5 | ||
| 9 | 72 | 44.5 | 63 | 87.5 | ||
| 8 | 114 | 47 | 95 | 83.3 | ||
| 7 | 121 | 47 | 96 | 79.3 | ||
| 6 | 126 | 47 | 101 | 80.1 | ||
Percentage of individuals with non-weighted threshold scores or higher who were found clinically asthmatic in the 2001 validation set (n = 126)
| 6 | 30 | 25 ( |
| 5 | 74 | 64 ( |
| 4 | 103 | 86 ( |
| 3 | 119 | 98 ( |
| 2 | 124 | 100 ( |
| 1 | 126 | 101 ( |
Information for estimating PPV for those scoring 9 or more in the 2001 population survey
| Stratum ( | Score ( | Number of respondents | ω | ∏' | ω |
| 6 | 12 | 2 | 0.0250 | 0.9914 | 0.0248 |
| 6 | 11 | 6 | 0.0750 | 0.9914 | 0.0744 |
| 6 | 10 | 5 | 0.0625 | 0.9867 | 0.0616 |
| 6 | 9 | 7 | 0.0875 | 0.7996 | 0.0700 |
| 5 | 12 | 1 | 0.0125 | 0.7181 | 0.0090 |
| 5 | 11 | 3 | 0.0375 | 0.7181 | 0.0269 |
| 5 | 10 | 9 | 0.1125 | 0.9777 | 0.1100 |
| 5 | 9 | 16 | 0.2000 | 0.8938 | 0.1788 |
| 4 | 10 | 3 | 0.0375 | 0.8908 | 0.0334 |
| 4 | 9 | 11 | 0.1375 | 0.9975 | 0.1371 |
| 1 – 3 | 11 | 1 | 0.0125 | 0.9633 | 0.0120 |
| 1 – 3 | 10 | 3 | 0.0375 | 0.9757 | 0.0366 |
| 1 – 3 | 9 | 13 | 0.1625 | 0.9880 | 0.1606 |
| Total | 80 | 1 |
Estimated PPV for those scoring 9 or more: