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Background:
Early diagnosis and
treatment of asthma
is important for
improving health and
minimizing the
social and economic
burden of the
disease. A simple
questionnaire would
provide a convenient
and timesaving tool
to help physicians
diagnose asthma.
Objective: The
senior author
developed a simple,
pre-interview
screening
questionnairethe
Asthma Screening
Questionnaire
(ASQ)consisting of
6 questions. The
present report
provides performance
evidence that the
ASQ is a reliable
instrument for
diagnosing asthma in
adults.
Methods:
Participants were
asthmatics or
controls, aged 18 to
65 years. All
participants
completed the
questionnaire
(self-administered
and
physician-administered),
and underwent
spirometry and a
methacholine
challenge test (if
there was no
reversibility during
initial spirometry).
Sensitivity,
specificity, and
positive and
negative predictive
values were
calculated for each
question, and the
total scores of
asthmatics were
compared with those
of controls. The
degree of agreement
between the
self-administered
and the
physician-administered
questionnaire was
calculated.
Results: The
main symptoms
discriminating
asthmatics from
controls were cough
more than average
(88% vs 0%), cough
from chest (72% vs
0%), shortness of
breath with exercise
(84% vs 16%), and
chest tightness when
lying down (72% vs
4%). A cutoff point
of total score ≥4
was associated with
the highest
combination of
sensitivity (96%)
and specificity
(100%). Substantial
agreement was
observed between the
self-administered
and the
physician-administered
questionnaire (κ
statistic,
0.56-1.00; P<.0001).
Conclusions: The
ASQ is a simple,
inexpensive, and
efficient
pre-interview
screening tool to
diagnose asthma.
Key words:
Asthma. Diagnosis.
Patient
questionnaire.
Physician
questionnaire.
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