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Hindawi, Journal of Allergy, (2012), p. 1-5, 2012

DOI: 10.1155/2012/945617

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Evaluation of a Parental Questionnaire to Identify Atopic Dermatitis in Infants and Preschool Children

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

Aim. To develop and validate a questionnaire for detecting atopic dermatitis in infants and small children from the age of 2 months. Methods. Parents to 60 children answered a written questionnaire prior to a physical examination and individual semistructured interview. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of validity, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of the questionnaire were performed. Results. A total of 27 girls and 33 boys, aged 2 to 71 months, 35 with and 25 without physician-diagnosed eczema, participated. Validation of the questionnaire by comparisons with physicians’ diagnoses showed a sensitivity of 0.91 (95% CI 0.77–0.98) and a specificity of 1 (95% CI 0.86–1). Conclusions. Three questions in a parental questionnaire were sufficient for diagnosing eczema in infants and small children.