title: The electronic Psoriasis and Arthritis Screening Questionnaire (ePASQ): a sensitive and specific tool to diagnose psoriatic arthritis patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We report on an electronic version of the Psoriatic Arthritis Screening Questionnaire (ePASQ), a sensitive and specific tool for diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in patients with plaque psoriasis.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To validate the ePASQ against the original paper version.
  
  
  METHODS
  The ePASQ scores 15 points on 10 weighted questions and a 68-joint diagram. Data were collected from a prospective cohort of 42 patients with early PsA meeting the Classification Criteria for Psoriatic Arthritis (CASPAR) criteria and from 12 plaque psoriasis patients without PsA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The receiver operating characteristic curves for the ePASQ group yielded an optimal 97.62% sensitivity and 75.00% specificity, for a cutoff score of 7. A cutoff point of 8 yielded 88.10% sensitivity and 75.00% specificity. Concordance of the paper and electronic scores was very high.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ePASQ is a sensitive and specific tool to screen for PsA. The simple electronic administration and automatic scoring minimize clinician involvement and increase the potential for wider distribution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, NL. mkhraishi@nexusresearch.com
authors.forename: Majed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khraishi
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mong
authors.forename: Gerry
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mugford
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Landells
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015535:Arthritis, Psoriatic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires