title: Design and validation of an oral health questionnaire for preoperative anaesthetic evaluation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Dental injuries incurred during endotracheal intubation are more frequent in patients with previous oral pathology. The study objectives were to develop an oral health questionnaire for preanaesthesia evaluation, easy to apply for personnel without special dental training; and establish a cut-off value for detecting persons with poor oral health.
  
  
  METHODS
  Validation study of a self-administered questionnaire, designed according to a literature review and an expert group's recommendations. The questionnaire was applied to a sample of patients evaluated in a preanaesthesia consultation. Rasch analysis of the questionnaire psychometric properties included viability, acceptability, content validity and reliability of the scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sample included 115 individuals, 50.4% of men, with a median age of 58 years (range: 38-71). The final analysis of 11 items presented a Person Separation Index of 0.861 and good adjustment of data to the Rasch model. The scale was unidimensional and its items were not biased by sex, age or nationality. The oral health linear measure presented good construct validity. The cut-off value was set at 52 points.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The questionnaire showed sufficient psychometric properties to be considered a reliable tool, valid for measuring the state of oral health in preoperative anaesthetic evaluations.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Clínico Universitario, Departamento de Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública, Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: Gema
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ruíz-López Del Prado
authors.affiliation: Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Servicio de Medicina Preventiva y Gestión de Calidad, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Agencia de Evaluación de Tecnologías Sanitarias, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Vendula
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Blaya-Nováková
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Agencia de Evaluación de Tecnologías Sanitarias, Madrid, Spain; Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Zuleika
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Saz-Parkinson
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor, Departamento de Otorrinolaringología, Madrid, Spain; Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Departamento de Otorrinolaringología, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Óscar Luis
authors.initials: ÓL
authors.lastname: Álvarez-Montero
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Escuela Nacional de Sanidad, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Alba
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ayala
authors.affiliation: Hospital Clínico Universitario, Unidad de Investigación Biomédica, Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria Fe
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Muñoz-Moreno
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Escuela Nacional de Sanidad, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: jforjaz@isciii.es.
authors.forename: Maria João
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Forjaz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth / Q000293:injuries; D015588:Observer Variation; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D061214:Patient Safety; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D018677:Tooth Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Dental injury; Higiene bucal; Lesão dentária; Oral health; Oral hygiene; Patient safety; Questionnaire; Questionário; Saúde bucal; Segurança do paciente