Validation of a diagnostic questionnaire for migraine adapted for a computer assisted telephone interviewing

Introduction: The use of questionnaires is a tool for obtaining information on cases and the variables to analyse in migraine study populations. Methods: We have validated the questionnaire within the PALM study, based on IHS-II criteria and administered by telephone using computer assisted sampling (CATI). The questionnaire has been validated using 50 randomly selected subjects, who had been assessed blind by a neurologist expert in migraine. Results: Of the 24 patients diagnosed with strict migraine with the CATI interview, only in 2 (8%) of them did the neurologist determine that they did not suffer from migraine. Furthermore, of the patients in whom the diagnostic questionnaire concluded that they did not suffer from migraine, the specialist did not establish that diagnosis in any of them either. The analysis showed a sensitivity of 81.5% (95% CI, 66.8%-96.1%) and a specificity of 91.3% (95% CI, 79.8%-100%). The positive predictive value was 91.7% and the negative was 80.8%. Conclusions: The PALM questionnaire administered by telephone with computer support is a valid tool for use in determining the prevalence of migraine in study populations. (C) 2010 Sociedad Espanola de Neurologia. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.