Moore Wendy R, Silber Michael H, Decker Paul A, Heim-Penokie Patricia C, Sikkink Vicki K, Slocumb Nancy, Richardson Jarrett W, Krahn Lois E
Sleep Disorders Center, Department of Nursing, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
J Clin Sleep Med. 2007 Feb 15;3(1):37-40.
This pilot study explored the sensitivity and specificity of a brief survey to determine the presence of cataplexy. We hypothesized that the brief questionnaire could provide a quick, sensitive, and specific screening tool to identify those patients with cataplexy, which would result in more timely referrals for further diagnostic testing.
The pilot study utilized a brief questionnaire that was developed by including 5 questions that were found to be strong positive predictors of cataplexy from a previous 51-item cataplexy questionnaire.
Participants with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis completed the questionnaire via mail correspondence or at the time of scheduled appointments in the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorder Center, Rochester, Minn.
Seventy-eight patients with narcolepsy and cataplexy and 78 patients with obstructive sleep apnea completed the questionnaire.
NA.
The sensitivity, specificity, area under the curve, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value/were computed for each question individually, along with appropriate 95% confidence intervals.
The first item of the cataplexy emotional trigger questionnaire (CETQ) discriminates patients with cataplexy from controls with excellent sensitivity and specificity. The addition of the other 4 questions, in the context of question 1, did not improve specificity, area under the curve, positive predictive value, or negative predictive value but did provide useful confirmatory data. Thus, a single question provides a brief practical tool that could improve the recognition of cataplexy in the clinical setting. Depending on the circumstance, users may be interested in utilizing 1 or all 5 questions.
