Aim To develop and validate a screening questionnaire for migraine without aura with sufficient diagnostic accuracy to be used in primary care settings. Methods The study was designed as cross-sectional, multicentric, diagnostic accuracy trial of new questionnaire for screening patients who visit general practitioners, with an aim to reveal migraine without aura. The instrument was constructed for the purpose of this study, and validated on the sample of 429 primary care outpatients. The gold standard of diagnosing migraine without aura was clinical estimate by a neurologist based on the International Classification of Headache Disorders 3rd edition (ICHD-III) criteria. Diagnostic accuracy of the instrument was tested through construction of the Receiver Operator Curve. Results The Balkan Migraine Screening Questionnaire (BMSQ) instrument showed good diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity 83.4% and specificity 79.9%) for migraine without aura, with significant screening yield among previously undiagnosed patients of 75.9%. The study also confirmed a high percentage of patients with hidden migraine without aura (MWA) (52.9%) revealed by the BMSQ and the ICHD-III criteria that would otherwise remain undiagnosed. Conclusion The BMSQ is a valid and reliable clinical instrument for revealing migraine without aura, which could be easily selfadministered by patients. It has high screening yield, discovering majority of patients with previously undiagnosed migraine without aura, whose definite diagnosis should later on be confirmed by the attending physicians using the ICHD-III criteria.
Vol. 38, Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society (IHS). The International Classification of Headache Disorders. 2018. p. 1–211.
2.
Katsarava Z, Buse DC, Manack AN, Lipton RB. Defining the differences between episodic migraine and chronic migraine. Vol. 16, Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2012. p. 86–92.
3.
Burch RC, Loder S, Loder E, Smitherman TA. The prevalence and burden of migraine and severe headache in the United States: updated statistics from government health surveillance studies. Vol. 55, Headache. 2015. p. 1–34.
4.
Rasmussen BK, Olesen J. Migraine with aura and migraine without aura: an epidemiological study. Vol. 12, Cephalalgia. 1992. p. 21–8.
5.
Piero V, M A, G C, B P, Clemente L, J H. General Practitioners’ Co-operative” of the Casilino district of Rome. The effects of a sensitisation campaign on unrecognised migraine: the Casilino study. Vol. 8, J Headache Pain. 2007. p. 5–8.
6.
Diego EV, M LM. Recognition and management of migraine in primary care: influence of functional impact measured by the headache impact test (HIT. Vol. 25, Cephalalgia. 2005. p. 184–90.
7.
Láinez MJ, Domínguez M, Rejas J, Palacios G, Arriaza E, Garcia-Garcia M, et al. Development and validation of the Migraine Screen Questionnaire (MS-Q. Vol. 45, Headache. 2005. p. 1328–38.
8.
Láinez MJ, Castillo J, Domínguez M, Palacios G, Díaz S, Rejas J. New uses of the Migraine Screen Questionnaire (MS-Q): validation in the Primary Care setting and ability to detect hidden migraine. MS-Q in Primary Care. Vol. 10, BMC Neurol. 2010.
9.
Lantéri-Minet M. The role of general practitioners in migraine management. Vol. 28 Suppl 2, Cephalalgia. 2008. p. 1–8.
10.
DeVellis RF. Scale Development, Theory and Applications. 2003.
11.
Streiner DL, Norman GR. Health Measurement Scales - a Practical Guide to Their Development and Use. 2008.
12.
Zamanzadeh V, Ghahramanian A, Rassouli M, Abbaszadeh A, Alavi-Majd H, Nikanfar AR. Design and Implementation Content Validity Study: Development of an instrument for measuring Patient-Centered Communication. Vol. 4, J Caring Sci. 2015. p. 165–78.
13.
Janković S. Dizajn istraživanja. 2016.
14.
Budczies J, Klauschen F, Sinn BV, Győrffy B, Schmitt WD, Darb-Esfahani S, et al. Cutoff Finder: A comprehensive and straightforward Web application enabling rapid biomarker cutoff optimization. Vol. 7:e51862, PLoS One. 2012.
15.
Peng KP, Wang SJ. Migraine diagnosis: screening items, instruments, and scales. Vol. 50, Acta Anaesthesiol Taiwan. 2012. p. 69–73.
16.
Purdy RA. Migraine with and without aura share the same pathogenic mechanisms. Vol. 29, Neurol Sci. 2008. p. 44–6.
17.
Manzoni GC, Torelli P. Migraine with and without aura: a single entity? Vol. 29 Suppl 1, Neurol Sci. 2008. p. 40–3.
18.
McHugh ML. Interrater reliability: the kappa statistic. Vol. 22, Biochem Med. 2012. p. 276–82.
19.
Alberg AJ, Park JW, Hager BW, Brock MV, DienerWest M. The use of “overall accuracy” to evaluate the validity of screening or diagnostic tests. Vol. 19, J Gen Intern Med. 2004. p. 460–5.
The statements, opinions and data contained in the journal are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publisher and the editor(s). We stay neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.