Table 4.
Accuracy of ascertainment of head and neck cancer symptoms from administrative data as compared to a patient survey (“gold standard”) among 5-year survivors of head and neck cancer diagnosed in 2011 at Kaiser Permanente Washington (n = 42).
| Symptom | Survey Prevalenced | Administrative Datae vs Survey | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | %(95% CI) | Sensitivity (95% CI) | Specificity (95% CI) | PPV (95% CI) | NPV (95% CI) | |
| MDASI-HN itemc | ||||||
| Fatigue (tiredness) | 27 | 64 (48–78) | 7 (1–24) | 100 (78–100) | 100 (16–100) | 38 (23–54) |
| Drowsy (sleepy)a | 25 | 61 (45–76) | 0 (0–14)e | 100 (79–100)e | undefined | 38 (24–54) |
| Remembering things | 24 | 57 (41–73) | 4 (0–21) | 100 (82–100) | 100 (3–100) | 44 (29–60) |
| Being distressed (upset)a | 22 | 54 (37–69) | 32 (14–55) | 95 (74–100) | 88 (47–100) | 55 (36–72) |
| Sadnessa | 22 | 54 (37–69) | 32 (14–55) | 100 (82–100) | 100 (59–100) | 56 (38–73) |
| Numbness/tinglinga | 22 | 54 (37–69) | 5 (0–23) | 100 (82–100) | 100 (3–100) | 48 (32–64) |
| Disturbed sleepa | 19 | 46 (31–63) | 26 (9–51) | 91 (71–99) | 71 (29–96) | 59 (41–75) |
| Constipationa | 18 | 44 (28–60) | 6 (0–27) | 91 (72–99) | 33 (1–91) | 55 (38–71) |
| Lack of appetitea | 16 | 39 (24–55) | 0 (0–21)f | 100 (86–100)f | undefinedg | 60 (43–74) |
| Shortness of breath | 15 | 36 (22–52) | 13 (2–41) | 93 (76–99) | 50 (7–93) | 66 (49–80) |
| Skin pain/burning/rashb | 10 | 25 (13–41) | 0 (0–31) | 98 (83–100) | 0 (0–98) | 74 (58–87) |
| Nauseaa | 8 | 20 (9–35) | 13 (0–53) | 94 (80–99) | 33 (1–91) | 82 (66–92) |
| Vomitinga | 4 | 10 (3–23) | 0 (0–60) | 97 (86–100) | 0 (0–97.5) | 90 (76–97) |
a Based on the 41 patients who responded to this item.
b Based on the 40 patients who responded to this item.
c For the MDASI-HN survey items, the symptom was considered absent if the patient’s score was 0 and present if it was ≥1.
d Patients were asked about their symptoms at their worst in the past 24 hours.
e Patient information was ascertained from administrative data for the 6 month period prior to completion of the survey.
f One-sided 97.5% confidence interval.
g Denominator was equal to 0.