Abstract
OBJECTIVES--To examine the intended meaning of words used by patients to describe arthritic symptoms, and to distinguish between different patient groups on the basis of these words. METHODS--A Joint Symptom Questionnaire, developed to resemble the McGill Pain Questionnaire, was given to health professionals (n = 50) and patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (n = 100), fibromyalgia (FM) (n = 50), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) (n = 50), and osteoarthritis (OA) (n = 50). Respondents were invited to define each word by selecting an appropriate heading. Comparison of patient groups was based on the selection of words they chose to describe their joint symptoms. RESULTS--Between health professionals and patients there were no semantic differences in the words given. Patients with FM chose more words to describe their symptoms than the other patient groups (RA median nine words; AS nine words; OA 10 words; FM 12 words). Using receiver operating characteristic curves, a clear distinction between patients with RA, FM, and AS was found, but patients with RA were not readily separated from patients with OA. CONCLUSIONS--There appears to be no semeiological confusion between health professionals and patients regarding arthritic symptoms. However, the spectrum of words chosen by patients to describe the feelings in their joints permits a separation between patients with RA, AS, and FM. Using this questionnaire, patients with RA and OA are symptomatically similar.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- 1958 REVISION of diagnostic criteria for rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 1959 Feb;2(1):16–20. doi: 10.1002/1529-0131(195902)2:1<16::aid-art1780020104>3.0.co;2-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Abramson J. H. On the diagnostic criteria of active rheumatoid arthritis. J Chronic Dis. 1967 May;20(5):275–290. doi: 10.1016/0021-9681(67)90056-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Arnett F. C., Edworthy S. M., Bloch D. A., McShane D. J., Fries J. F., Cooper N. S., Healey L. A., Kaplan S. R., Liang M. H., Luthra H. S. The American Rheumatism Association 1987 revised criteria for the classification of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 1988 Mar;31(3):315–324. doi: 10.1002/art.1780310302. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Charter R. A., Nehemkis A. M., Keenan M. A., Person D., Prete P. E. The nature of arthritis pain. Br J Rheumatol. 1985 Feb;24(1):53–60. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/24.1.53. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hanley J. A., McNeil B. J. The meaning and use of the area under a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Radiology. 1982 Apr;143(1):29–36. doi: 10.1148/radiology.143.1.7063747. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hazes J. M., Hayton R., Silman A. J. A reevaluation of the symptom of morning stiffness. J Rheumatol. 1993 Jul;20(7):1138–1142. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Helliwell P. S., Howe A., Wright V. Lack of objective evidence of stiffness in rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 1988 Sep;47(9):754–758. doi: 10.1136/ard.47.9.754. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Leavitt F., Katz R. S., Golden H. E., Glickman P. B., Layfer L. F. Comparison of pain properties in fibromyalgia patients and rheumatoid arthritis patients. Arthritis Rheum. 1986 Jun;29(6):775–781. doi: 10.1002/art.1780290611. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Melzack R. The McGill Pain Questionnaire: major properties and scoring methods. Pain. 1975 Sep;1(3):277–299. doi: 10.1016/0304-3959(75)90044-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rhind V. M., Unsworth A., Haslock I. Assessment of stiffness in rheumatology: the use of rating scales. Br J Rheumatol. 1987 Apr;26(2):126–130. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/26.2.126. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]