Beghi E, Simone P, Apollo F, Di Viesti P, Treviso M, Tonali P
Institute for Pharmacological Research Mario Negri, Milan, Italy.
Neuroepidemiology. 1988;7(1):23-8. doi: 10.1159/000110132.
An epidemiological survey has been conducted during a 3-month period in the Regional Hospital of S. Giovanni Rotondo, a small city in Southern Italy. A total of 1,878 patients aged 12 years and over admitted to the hospital were randomized during the study period. Each patient was asked 7 specific questions focusing on symptoms most likely due to polyneuropathy. The sensitivity and specificity of the screening procedure were tested separately and found to be high. All cases who gave affirmative answers to at least 2 questions were carefully investigated in search of a polyneuropathy. Of the 20 cases which gave an affirmative answer to 2 or more questions, 19 (1% or 10 cases per 1,000 hospital population) had a neurological examination fitting with the diagnosis of polyneuropathy. There were 3 males and 16 females with a median age of 61 years. Diabetes was the commonest associated disorder. The disease ran a mild course in 12 cases and was severe in only 1. The screening model used in the current study seems a valuable and simple approach for case ascertainment in epidemiological investigations of polyneuropathy.
在意大利南部一个小城市圣乔瓦尼罗通多的地区医院，进行了为期3个月的流行病学调查。在研究期间，共有1878名12岁及以上的住院患者被随机选取。每位患者被问及7个特定问题，这些问题聚焦于最有可能由多发性神经病引起的症状。对筛查程序的敏感性和特异性分别进行了测试，结果发现都很高。对至少2个问题给出肯定回答的所有病例都进行了仔细调查，以寻找多发性神经病。在对2个或更多问题给出肯定回答的20例病例中，19例（占1%，即每1000名住院患者中有10例）经神经学检查符合多发性神经病的诊断。其中有3名男性和16名女性，中位年龄为61岁。糖尿病是最常见的相关疾病。该疾病在12例中病情较轻，仅1例病情严重。本研究中使用的筛查模型似乎是在多发性神经病流行病学调查中确定病例的一种有价值且简单的方法。
