Assessing whiplash recovery--the Whiplash Disability Questionnaire.
BACKGROUND
General practitioners often need to track outcomes of whiplash patients, and a disability questionnaire may be useful.


METHODS
Whiplash patients who attended primary care clinics in Edmonton, Canada were interviewed 3 months postcollision. Subjects were asked a global recovery question: "Do you feel you have recovered fully from your accident injuries?" Subjects then completed the Whiplash Disability Questionnaire (WDQ).


RESULTS
A total of 131 subjects participated. Of these, 52 (39.7%) reported that they felt they had recovered. Those who reported complete recovery had a mean WDQ score of 2.5 and those who reported they had not recovered had a mean WDQ score of 29.9. All who responded "yes" to the recovery question had a WDQ score below 13, while all those responding "no" to the recovery question had a WDQ score of 13 or more.


CONCLUSIONS
The WDQ as an outcome measure may be useful in clinical practice.
Ferrari
Robert
R
Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. rferrari@shaw.ca
Russell
Anthony
A
Kelly
Allan J
AJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000416:Alberta; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014911:Whiplash Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*