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Whenever clinicians assess patients and ask about symptoms, they
make some kind of measurement of those symptoms, for example,
how often they occur, or how severe or bothersome the symptom
is. These are all crude forms of measurement. In clinical settings,
symptoms are often assessed and recorded in the notes in varied
and often unsystematic ways. This is in contrast to the measurement
of many biological variables, such as hemoglobin levels. Here
the results are quantified and can be compared with earlier tests,
which allows change to be monitored. This is because standardized
systems of collecting and analyzing biological samples have been
developed and validated over time.
Also
when we are measuring symptoms, we must make sure that the measurement
process is valid (it measures what you think you are measuring),
reliable (the same result would be found if a different person
used the measure or the measure was taken at a different time),
responsive (able to detect clinically important changes), and
appropriate (to the patient and situation). This means using so-called
"validated instruments" for detecting and measuring
symptoms.
Click
here for a list of some of the more common questionnaires
and instruments for symptom assessment.
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