[Development of a questionnaire to measure asthmatic patients' knowledge of their disease]. / Desarrollo de un cuestionario para medir los conocimientos del paciente asmático en relación con su enfermedad.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a valid, reliable, and sensitive self-administered questionnaire in Spanish to measure the knowledge asthmatic patients have of their disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The face and content validity of the questions was established by consensus among expert pulmonologists. To determine the importance of the questions, they were put to 100 participating asthmatic patients. The number of questions was reduced by consensus taking into account the importance given to each question by these patients. A further 25 patients participated in the assessment of reliability and sensitivity. The questionnaire was administered 5 times: twice before and 3 times after an educational intervention. The direct and indirect external consistency (kappa statistic) and the overall kappa value were determined. Sensitivity was assessed from the number of correct answers before and after the intervention (Wilcoxon test; P< .05) and from the percentage change (>40% was clinically significant). RESULTS: Fifty-nine questions were drawn up and the final version included 20. The test-retest consistency was between 0.81 and 1 in 76% of the cases before the intervention and in 92% after it. The kappa statistic before the intervention was between 0.41 and 1 in 96% of the cases, and between 0.81 and 1 in 88% afterwards. The overall kappa values before and after the intervention were 0.12 and 0.43, respectively. The median sensitivity, measured as percentage change, was 67% and 10 patients showed an improvement between 81% and 233%. CONCLUSIONS: The questionnaire is reliable, has face and content validity, and is very sensitive to change. In view of these results, this instrument is useful for measuring the knowledge that asthmatic patients have of their disease in clinical practice and investigation.

La exploración del tórax: una guía para descifrar sus mensajes / Thoracic exploration: a guide to decipher their messages

Resumen La exploración adecuada del tórax tiene una secuencia que ayuda al clínico a seguir varios pasos e integrar sus hallazgos en síndromes, mismos que lo llevarán con más seguridad hacia el diagnóstico más adecuado. Al cumplirse los 200 años de la invención del estetoscopio por René Laënec, tomamos esta oportunidad para recordarlo y detallar los pasos de la exploración del tórax. El hecho de contar con más herramientas tecnológicas para el diagnóstico, no le resta importancia a esta etapa tan importante de la relación entre el médico y su paciente, que es la exploración.

Abstract Thoracic exploration has a sequence of steps that help the clinician to integrate its findings in syndromes, which will lead the physician to better diagnosis. This year the stethoscope, invented by René Laënec, turns 200 years old and we use this opportunity to remember him and provide a detailed description of the thoracic exploration. To have access to more sophisticated diagnostic tools should not diminish the relevance of a direct exploration of the patient, which is a very important step in the patient-physician relationship.

Desarrollo de un cuestionario para medir los conocimientos del paciente asmático en relación con su enfermedad / Development of a questionnaire to measure asthmatic patients' knowledge of their disease

Objetivo: Desarrollar un cuestionario en español, autoadministrado, que mida los conocimientos del paciente asmático en relación con su enfermedad y que sea válido, fiable y sensible. Pacientes y métodos: La validez de apariencia y contenido de las preguntas redactadas se estableció por consenso de neumólogos expertos. Para la calificación de la importancia de las preguntas participaron 100 pacientes asmáticos. La reducción del número de preguntas para la versión final del cuestionario se realizó por consenso y tomando en consideración la escala de importancia determinada por los mismos pacientes. Para evaluar la fiabilidad y sensibilidad participaron otros 25 pacientes. El cuestionario se aplicó en 5 ocasiones diferentes: 2 previas y 3 posteriores a la intervención educativa. Se midió la consistencia externa directa e indirecta (índice kappa) y la kappa global. La sensibilidad se determinó con el número de aciertos antes y después de la intervención (prueba de Wilcoxon; p 40%, clínicamente significativo). Resultados: Se redactaron 59 preguntas y la versión final del cuestionario consta de 20. La consistencia directa antes y después de la intervención fue de 0,81-1 en el 76 y el 92% de los casos, respectivamente. El índice kappa antes de la intervención se situó entre 0,41 y 1 en el 96% de los casos, y después fue de 0,81-1 en el 88%. La kappa global antes y después de la intervención fue de 0,12 y 0,43, respectivamente. La mediana de la sensibilidad, medida en porcentaje de cambio, fue del 67% y 10 pacientes mostraron una mejora entre el 81 y el 233%. Conclusiones: El cuestionario es fiable, reúne los criterios de validez de contenido y apariencia y es muy sensible al cambio. En virtud de la magnitud de los resultados, es un instrumento útil para medir los conocimientos del paciente asmático en la práctica clínica o la investigación

Objective: To develop a valid, reliable, and sensitive self-administered questionnaire in Spanish to measure the knowledge asthmatic patients have of their disease. Patients and methods: The face and content validity of the questions was established by consensus among expert pulmonologists. To determine the importance of the questions, they were put to 100 participating asthmatic patients. The number of questions was reduced by consensus taking into account the importance given to each question by these patients. A further 25 patients participated in the assessment of reliability and sensitivity. The questionnaire was administered 5 times: twice before and 3 times after an educational intervention. The direct and indirect external consistency (k statistic) and the overall k value were determined. Sensitivity was assessed from the number of correct answers before and after the intervention (Wilcoxon test; P40% was clinically significant). Results: Fifty-nine questions were drawn up and the final version included 20. The test-retest consistency was between 0.81 and 1 in 76% of the cases before the intervention and in 92% after it. The k statistic before the intervention was between 0.41 and 1 in 96% of the cases, and between 0.81 and 1 in 88% afterwards. The overall k values before and after the intervention were 0.12 and 0.43, respectively. The median sensitivity, measured as percentage change, was 67% and 10 patients showed an improveme between 81% and 233%. Conclusions: The questionnaire is reliable, has face and content validity, and is very sensitive to change. In view of these results, this instrument is useful for measuring the knowledge that asthmatic patients have of their disease in clinical practice and investigation