The sensitivity and specificity of the 9-item Wearing-off Questionnaire.
OBJECTIVE
This multicenter, cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the sensitivity and specificity of a 9-item Wearing-off Questionnaire (WOQ-9) compared with assessment by a clinician.


METHODS
Patients with a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) for 5 <or=years, and receiving stable antiparkinsonian therapy for >or=90 days, completed the WOQ-9 before independent evaluation by the physician.


RESULTS
One hundred fifty-seven patients reported WO using the WOQ-9; only 79 had been previously diagnosed with WO by a physician. The most frequent items used by physicians to diagnose WO included type of symptoms (69.6%), symptom response (63.3%), and timing of symptom response (58.2%) to medication. Physician assessment of WO and WOQ-9 results corresponded in 76 of 79 cases; physicians disagreed with WO identification in 81 of 157 cases. Sensitivity of the WOQ-9 was 96.2% and specificity was 40.9%.


CONCLUSIONS
The WOQ-9 is a useful screening tool to aid diagnosis of WO in PD patients.
Stacy
M A
MA
Division of Neurology, Duke University, 932 Morreene Road, MS 3333, Durham, NC 27705, USA. stacy002@mc.duke.edu
Murphy
J M
JM
Greeley
D R
DR
Stewart
R M
RM
Murck
H
H
Meng
X
X
D000368:Aged; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004351:Drug Resistance / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D000978:Antiparkinson Agents