title: Development and validation of a new questionnaire for the evaluation of upper gastrointestinal symptoms in the elderly population: a multicenter study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several diagnostic questionnaires for evaluating upper gastrointestinal symptoms have been described; none of these, however, has been validated in older individuals. Objectives To develop and validate a diagnostic tool for evaluating upper gastrointestinal symptoms in older patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cohort of 206 older patients who underwent a upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (development cohort) was used for developing a 15-item upper gastrointestinal symptom questionnaire for the elderly population (UGISQUE), including five symptom clusters: (a) abdominal pain syndrome, (b) reflux syndrome, (c) indigestion syndrome, (d) bleeding, and (e) nonspecific symptoms. The questionnaire was then validated in a cohort of 326 older patients selected from those who underwent an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in 15 gastroenterological centers in Italy (validation cohort).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The endoscopic diagnoses in the development and validation cohorts were esophagitis (E) 15.5% and 29.4%, erosive gastritis (EG) 24.8% and 24.8%, peptic ulcer (PU) 26.2% and 14.7%, and without organic lesions (WOL) 31.0% and 33.5%, respectively. In both the cohorts, patients with upper gastrointestinal disorders showed significantly more symptoms than WOL patients. The predictive value of UGISQUE for any pathological condition (E, EG, or PU) was good, with areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of .80, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.743-0.864, and of .78, 95% CI 0.73-0.83, in the development and validation cohorts, respectively. The accuracy of UGISQUE was significantly higher than that for the individual clusters of symptoms in predicting the presence of E (p = .004), PU (p < .0001), or any pathological condition (p < .0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  UGISQUE is an accurate diagnostic tool for evaluating symptoms in elderly patients with upper gastrointestinal disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, Geriatric Unit and Gerontology-Geriatrics Research Laboratory, IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, Viale Cappuccini 10, San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy. alberto.pilotto@operapadrepio.it
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pilotto
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maggi
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Noale
authors.forename: Marilisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Franceschi
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Parisi
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Crepaldi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires