The development and initial validation of the Liverpool sicca index to assess symptoms and dysfunction in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.
BACKGROUND
A validated measure to assess sicca-related symptoms in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (1 degrees SS) is required for clinical studies.


METHODS
A self-administered questionnaire was developed to assess sicca-related symptoms and dysfunction in 1 degrees SS. This was administered to three groups of 40 respondents to measure construct validity: 1 degrees SS patients, non-SS patients reporting xerostomia and a non-patient group. The frequency of scores and the mean score for each question were calculated for each group. Reliability was assessed by test/retest.


RESULTS
The measure consisted of 28 items divided into five domains. Scores for questions in domains were generally worse (higher) for 1 degrees SS patients than for patients with xerostomia. The non-patient group reported the best (lowest) scores for all questions. The Kappa statistic for all but four questions was greater than 0.6, suggesting good reliability.


CONCLUSIONS
Questionnaire showed good construct validity and reliability. The Liverpool sicca index needs to be further validated in larger, multicentre studies.
Field
E Anne
EA
Sjögren's Syndrome Research Group, Department of Clinical Dental Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK. e.a.field@liv.ac.uk
Rostron
Jocelyne L
JL
Longman
Lesley P
LP
Bowman
Simon J
SJ
Lowe
Derek
D
Rogers
Simon N
SN
D000328:Adult; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007057:Ichthyosis / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012636:Secretory Rate / Q000502:physiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000145:classification* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards; D014623:Vaginal Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology; D014985:Xerophthalmia / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology