Development And Preliminary Evaluation Of A Simple Screening Questionnaire For Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness

Objective:The purpose of this study was to design a simple screening questionnaire for persistent postural perceptual dizziness(PPPD)with good reliability and validity,and to evaluate its reliability,validity,and screening ability.Methods:1.Through literature analysis and expert meetings,combined with the consensus on PPPD diagnosis released by the Barani Association in 2017,the pool of PPPD questionnaire entries was preliminarily established.2.Combined with the Delphi expert inquiry method,the PPPD screening questionnaire items were finally determined.3.Initial application of the PPPD screening questionnaire.Using convenient sampling,prospective patients who were hospitalized in the vertigo clinic of otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery in a third-class hospital in Shanxi Province from November 2021 to January 2023 were selected for questionnaire screening.A total of 346 questionnaires were collected,50 invalid questionnaires were excluded,and 296 questionnaires were finally included.After answering the questionnaire,the subjects were questioned by a dizziness specialist,using the PPPD diagnostic consensus as the gold standard.The expert will determine the final diagnosis of the patient based on the diagnostic criteria,combined with the patient’s medical history,physical examination,and auxiliary examinations.Those who cannot be diagnosed will be rejected.This study underwent three rounds of screening.The first and second rounds are used to adjust the items,while the third round is used to evaluate the screening ability of the questionnaire.4.Statistical analysis.All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version26.0 for Windows.The measurement data was expressed by mean ± standard deviation(x± s),and t-test was performed;Chi-square test was used for counting data,P<0.05 was statistically significant.The Cronbach’s α coefficient was used for reliability test,and the content validity and structure validity were used for validity test.The receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC)was drawn to determine the cutoff value,specificity and sensitivity of the screening questionnaire.Results:1.This study finally identified 21 items.2.Reliability analysis: the Cronbach’s α coefficient of this screening questionnaire is 0.831,and the half coefficient is 0.742.3.Validity analysis: the content validity of the questionnaire;in the structural validity,the KMO value was 0.811,there were 6 factors with characteristic roots greater than 1,and the cumulative contribution rate was 62.616%.4.Screening ability analysis: the area under the ROC curve was 0.935(95%confidence interval was 0.877～0.992),the best cut-off value was 8.5.The corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 85% and 85.5%,respectively.Conclusion:The PPPD screening questionnaire has high sensitivity and specificity,providing a useful tool for grassroots hospitals vertigo direction beginners to early and correctly identify PPPD patients.