[Evaluation of the validity of AD/HD diagnoses in referrals from paediatrics to the child psychiatry clinic].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the validity of clinical diagnoses of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD).


METHODS
Descriptive, cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Mental Health Care area 6, Murcia, Spain.


METHODS
The sample consists of those patients referred consecutively to the child psychiatry clinic between July and September 2005.


METHODS
The presumptive diagnosis of AD/HD in the paediatric department referral was compared with the definitive one in psychiatry (gold standard). Sensitivity, specificity and predictive values and probability quotients were calculated.


RESULTS
Seventy-five patients were included; 12% were lost. Sixty-six cases were studied, 15 with AD/HD and 51 with other diagnoses (23 with differential diagnoses from AD/HD). Sensitivity was 86.7% (95% CI, 69.5-100); specificity, 54.9% (95% CI, 41.3-68.6); positive predictive value, 36.1% (95% CI, 20.4-51.8); and negative predictive value, 93.3% (95% CI, 84.4-100).


CONCLUSIONS
Validity of diagnosis was moderate with high sensitivity, low specificity and a low positive predictive value, the latter calculated for low AD/HD prevalence. The clinical picture of AD/HD tends to be oversized. The presumptive diagnosis in primary care behaved as a screening test. The clinical diagnosis in primary care should be complemented with other diagnostic tests that provide greater specificity.
Morán Sánchez
Inés
I
Centro de Salud Mental, Cartagena, Murcia, España. Inmosa77@hotmail.com
Navarro-Mateu
Fernando
F
Robles Sánchez
Fuensanta
F
de Concepción Salesa
Asunción
A
D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity