Behçet’s Disease Current Activity Form as a Patient’s Derived Measure

Abstract

Objective. This study measured the reliability of the Behçet’s Disease Current Activity Form (BDCAF) questionnaire used as a patient self-report form. Methods. A study was conducted among 63 patients with Behçet’s disease who attended our rheumatology clinic. First, a physician administered a BDCAF questionnaire. Second, the patient completed a self-administered questionnaire at home within 24 hours of the visit. The test–retest reliability was analyzed using kappa tests. Kappa scores of ＞0.6 indicated good agreement. The BDCAF score was compared with the patient’s/clinician’s perception of disease activity and the Korean version of Behçet’s Disease Quality of Life (BDQOL). Results. The study included 17 males and 46 females. The mean age of participants was 47.7 years and the mean disease duration was 5.3 years at the first assessment. Fifty-three patients (84.1%) returned the questionnaires to us by mail. For test–retest reliability, good agreement was achieved with the items including headache, oral/genital ulceration, erythema, arthritis, and diarrhea with altered/frank blood per rectum; moderate agreement with skin pustules, arthralgia, and eye involvement; fair agreement with nausea/vomiting/abdominal pain, nervous system, and major vessel involvement. Significant associations were observed between BDCAF scores with the patient’s/clinician’s perception of disease activity and BDQOL (p＜0.05). Conclusion. The BDCAF appears useful as a patient self-report instrument for assessment of disease status. (J Rheum Dis 2016;23:19-22)