Hampton JR, Harrison MJ, Mitchell JR, Prichard JS, Seymour C, 1975. Relative contributions of history-taking, physical examination, and laboratory investigation to diagnosis and management of medical outpatients. BMJ 2: 486–489.
Peterson MC, Holbrook JH, Von Hales D, Smith NL, Staker LV, 1992. Contributions of the history, physical examination, and laboratory investigation in making medical diagnoses. West J Med 156: 163–165.
Sapira JD, Orient JM, 2010. The history. Sapira JD, Orient JM, eds. Sapira's Art and Science of Bedside Diagnosis. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 33–46.
Roter DL, Hall JA, 1987. Physician's interviewing styles and medical information obtained from patients. J Gen Intern Med 2: 325–329.
Koran LM, 1975. The reliability of clinical methods, data and judgments (first of two parts). N Engl J Med 293: 642–646.
Shinar D, Gross CR, Mohr JP, Caplan LR, Price TR, Wolf PA, Hier DB, Kase CS, Fishman IG, Wolf CL, Kunitz SC, 1985. Interobserver variability in the assessment of neurologic history and examination in the Stroke Data Bank. Arch Neurol 42: 557–565.
Wipf JE, Lipsky BA, Hirschmann JV, Boyko EJ, Takasugi J, Peugeot RL, Davis CL, 1999. Diagnosing pneumonia by physical examination: relevant or relic? Arch Intern Med 159: 1082–1087.
Peat G, Wood L, Wilkie R, Thomas E, 2003. How reliable is structured clinical history-taking in older adults with knee problems? Inter- and intraobserver variability of the KNE-SCI. J Clin Epidemiol 56: 1030–1037.
Fürst T, Silué KD, Ouattara M, N'Goran DN, Adiossan LG, N'Guessan Y, Zouzou F, Koné S, N'Goran EK, Utzinger J, 2012. Schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and sociodemographic factors influence quality of life of adults in Côte d'Ivoire. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 6: e1855.
Fürst T, Ouattara M, Silué KD, N'Goran DN, Adiossan LG, Bogoch II, Yao AJA, Koné S, Utzinger J, N'Goran EK, 2013. Scope and limits of an anamnestic questionnaire in a control-induced low-endemicity helminthiasis setting in south-central Côte d'Ivoire. PLoS One 8: e64380.
Utzinger J, N'Goran EK, Ossey YA, Booth M, Traoré M, Lohourignon KL, Allangba A, Ahiba LA, Tanner M, Lengeler C, 2000. Rapid screening for Schistosoma mansoni in western Côte d'Ivoire using a simple school questionnaire. Bull World Health Organ 78: 389–398.
Raso G, Luginbühl A, Adjoua CA, Tian-Bi NT, Silué KD, Matthys B, Vounatsou P, Wang Y, Dumas ME, Holmes E, Singer BH, Tanner M, N'Goran EK, Utzinger J, 2004. Multiple parasite infections and their relationship to self-reported morbidity in a community of rural Côte d'Ivoire. Int J Epidemiol 33: 1092–1102.
Raso G, Utzinger J, Silué KD, Ouattara M, Yapi A, Toty A, Matthys B, Vounatsou P, Tanner M, N'Goran EK, 2005. Disparities in parasitic infections, perceived ill health and access to health care among poorer and less poor schoolchildren of rural Côte d'Ivoire. Trop Med Int Health 10: 42–57.
Kouadio MKD, Righetti AA, Abé NN, Wegmüller R, Weiss MG, N'Goran EK, Utzinger J, 2013. Local concepts of anemia-related illnesses and public health implications in the Taabo health demographic surveillance system, Côte d'Ivoire. BMC Hematol 13: 5.
O'Donnell O, van Doorslaer E, Wagstaff A, Lindelow M, 2008. Analyzing Health Equity Using Household Survey Data. A Guide to Techniques and their Implementation. Washington, DC: World Bank.
World Health Organization, 2002. Prevention and control of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis: report of a WHO expert committee. WHO Tech Rep Ser 912: 1–57.
World Health Organization, 2008. Preventive Chemotherapy Newsletter. Action Against Worms. Issue 11. Available at: http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/preventive_chemotherapy/pctnewsletter11.pdf. Accessed January 23, 2013.
INDEPTH Network, 2002. Population and Health in Developing Countries. Ottawa, Canada: International Development Research Centre.
Redelmeier DA, Cialdini RB, 2002. Problems for clinical judgement: 5. Principles of influence in medical practice. CMAJ 166: 1680–1684.
Kalter HD, Hossain M, Burnham G, Khan NZ, Saha SK, Ali MA, Black RE, 1999. Validation of caregiver interviews to diagnose common causes of severe neonatal illness. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 13: 99–113.
Mpimbaza A, Filler S, Katureebe A, Kinara SO, Nzabandora E, Quick L, Ratcliffe A, Wabwire-Mangen F, Chandramohan D, Staedke SG, 2011. Validity of verbal autopsy procedures for determining malaria deaths in different epidemiological settings in Uganda. PLoS One 6: e26892.
Anyangwe SC, Mtonga C, 2007. Inequities in the global health workforce: the greatest impediment to health in sub-Saharan Africa. Int J Environ Res Public Health 4: 93–100.
Yansouni CP, Bottieau E, Chappuis F, Phoba MF, Lunguya O, Ifeka BB, Jacobs J, 2012. Rapid diagnostic tests for a coordinated approach to fever syndromes in low-resource settings. Clin Infect Dis 55: 610–611.
Becker SL, Vogt J, Knopp S, Panning M, Warhurst DC, Polman K, Marti H, von Müller L, Yansouni CP, Jacobs J, Bottieau E, Sacko M, Rijal S, Meyanti F, Miles MA, Boelaert M, Lutumba P, van Lieshout L, N'Goran EK, Chappuis F, Utzinger J, 2013. Persistent digestive disorders in the tropics: causative infectious pathogens and reference diagnostic tests. BMC Infect Dis 13: 37.
Yansouni CP, Bottieau E, Lutumba P, Winkler AS, Lynen L, Büscher P, Jacobs J, Gillet P, Lejon V, Alirol E, Polman K, Utzinger J, Miles MA, Peeling RW, Muyembe JJ, Chappuis F, Boelaert M, 2013. Rapid diagnostic tests for neurological infections in central Africa. Lancet Infect Dis 13: 546–558.
Horrocks S, Anderson E, Salisbury C, 2002. Systematic review of whether nurse practitioners working in primary care can provide equivalent care to doctors. BMJ 324: 819–823.
Vasan A, Kenya-Mugisha N, Seung KJ, Achieng M, Banura P, Lule F, Beems M, Todd J, Madraa E, 2009. Agreement between physicians and non-physician clinicians in starting antiretroviral therapy in rural Uganda. Hum Resour Health 7: 75.
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Medical history-taking is among the most powerful diagnostic tools for healthcare professionals. However, its accuracy and reliability are underexplored areas. The present post-hoc study compares medical histories from 463 people in a rural part of Côte d'Ivoire. The medical histories of the same individuals were taken by physicians and experienced field enumerators who were blinded to the results of the others. Kappa (κ) statistics for 14 symptoms revealed only poor-to-moderate agreement between physicians and field enumerators (κ = 0.01–0.54). Participants reported consistently more symptoms to field enumerators than physicians. Only 33 (7.1%) participants gave no discordant statement at all. The average number of discordant statements per participant was 3.7. Poisson regression revealed no significant association between the number of discordant statements and participants' age, sex, educational attainment, occupation, or socioeconomic status. Operational research should further explore best practices to obtain reliable medical histories in resource-constrained settings.
Financial support: We are grateful to FAIRMED for sustained funding of the Taabo HDSS. This work is part of the NIDIAG network (Collaborative Project; www.NIDIAG.org) supported by the European Commission under the Health Cooperation Work Program of 7th Framework Program Grant 260260. T.F. is associated with the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) North–South. T.F. received financial support through a Pro*Doc Research Module from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) project PDFMP3-123185 and a contribution of the Freiwillige Akademische Gesellschaft Basel. The research of E.K.N. and J.U. is financially supported by SNSF project IZ70Z0-123900.
Authors' addresses: Thomas Fürst and Jürg Utzinger, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland, E-mails: thomas.fuerst@unibas.ch and juerg.utzinger@unibas.ch. Kigbafori D. Silué, Mamadou Ouattara, Eliézer K. N'Goran, Unité de Formation et de Recherche Biosciences, Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, E-mails: kigbafori.silue@csrs.ci, mamadou_ouatt@yahoo.fr, and eliezerngoran@yahoo.fr. Kigbafori D. Silué, Siaka Koné, and Eliézer K. N'Goran, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, E-mail: kone_siaka0@yahoo.fr. Lukas G. Adiossan, Hôpital Général de Taabo Cité, Taabo Cité, Côte d'Ivoire, E-mail: adiossanlukas@yahoo.fr. Dje N. N'Goran, Programme National de Lutte contre la Schistosomiase, les Géohelminthiases et la Filariose Lymphatique, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, E-mail: ngorannobert@gmail.com. Azragnou J. Yao, Unité de Formation et de Recherche Sciences Médicales, Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, E-mail: yaojoel@yahoo.fr. Isaac I. Bogoch, Divisions of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Canada, E-mail: isaac.bogoch@uhn.ca.
Hampton JR, Harrison MJ, Mitchell JR, Prichard JS, Seymour C, 1975. Relative contributions of history-taking, physical examination, and laboratory investigation to diagnosis and management of medical outpatients. BMJ 2: 486–489.
Peterson MC, Holbrook JH, Von Hales D, Smith NL, Staker LV, 1992. Contributions of the history, physical examination, and laboratory investigation in making medical diagnoses. West J Med 156: 163–165.
Sapira JD, Orient JM, 2010. The history. Sapira JD, Orient JM, eds. Sapira's Art and Science of Bedside Diagnosis. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 33–46.
Roter DL, Hall JA, 1987. Physician's interviewing styles and medical information obtained from patients. J Gen Intern Med 2: 325–329.
Koran LM, 1975. The reliability of clinical methods, data and judgments (first of two parts). N Engl J Med 293: 642–646.
Shinar D, Gross CR, Mohr JP, Caplan LR, Price TR, Wolf PA, Hier DB, Kase CS, Fishman IG, Wolf CL, Kunitz SC, 1985. Interobserver variability in the assessment of neurologic history and examination in the Stroke Data Bank. Arch Neurol 42: 557–565.
Wipf JE, Lipsky BA, Hirschmann JV, Boyko EJ, Takasugi J, Peugeot RL, Davis CL, 1999. Diagnosing pneumonia by physical examination: relevant or relic? Arch Intern Med 159: 1082–1087.
Peat G, Wood L, Wilkie R, Thomas E, 2003. How reliable is structured clinical history-taking in older adults with knee problems? Inter- and intraobserver variability of the KNE-SCI. J Clin Epidemiol 56: 1030–1037.
Fürst T, Silué KD, Ouattara M, N'Goran DN, Adiossan LG, N'Guessan Y, Zouzou F, Koné S, N'Goran EK, Utzinger J, 2012. Schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and sociodemographic factors influence quality of life of adults in Côte d'Ivoire. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 6: e1855.
Fürst T, Ouattara M, Silué KD, N'Goran DN, Adiossan LG, Bogoch II, Yao AJA, Koné S, Utzinger J, N'Goran EK, 2013. Scope and limits of an anamnestic questionnaire in a control-induced low-endemicity helminthiasis setting in south-central Côte d'Ivoire. PLoS One 8: e64380.
Utzinger J, N'Goran EK, Ossey YA, Booth M, Traoré M, Lohourignon KL, Allangba A, Ahiba LA, Tanner M, Lengeler C, 2000. Rapid screening for Schistosoma mansoni in western Côte d'Ivoire using a simple school questionnaire. Bull World Health Organ 78: 389–398.
Raso G, Luginbühl A, Adjoua CA, Tian-Bi NT, Silué KD, Matthys B, Vounatsou P, Wang Y, Dumas ME, Holmes E, Singer BH, Tanner M, N'Goran EK, Utzinger J, 2004. Multiple parasite infections and their relationship to self-reported morbidity in a community of rural Côte d'Ivoire. Int J Epidemiol 33: 1092–1102.
Raso G, Utzinger J, Silué KD, Ouattara M, Yapi A, Toty A, Matthys B, Vounatsou P, Tanner M, N'Goran EK, 2005. Disparities in parasitic infections, perceived ill health and access to health care among poorer and less poor schoolchildren of rural Côte d'Ivoire. Trop Med Int Health 10: 42–57.
Kouadio MKD, Righetti AA, Abé NN, Wegmüller R, Weiss MG, N'Goran EK, Utzinger J, 2013. Local concepts of anemia-related illnesses and public health implications in the Taabo health demographic surveillance system, Côte d'Ivoire. BMC Hematol 13: 5.
O'Donnell O, van Doorslaer E, Wagstaff A, Lindelow M, 2008. Analyzing Health Equity Using Household Survey Data. A Guide to Techniques and their Implementation. Washington, DC: World Bank.
World Health Organization, 2002. Prevention and control of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis: report of a WHO expert committee. WHO Tech Rep Ser 912: 1–57.
World Health Organization, 2008. Preventive Chemotherapy Newsletter. Action Against Worms. Issue 11. Available at: http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/preventive_chemotherapy/pctnewsletter11.pdf. Accessed January 23, 2013.
INDEPTH Network, 2002. Population and Health in Developing Countries. Ottawa, Canada: International Development Research Centre.
Redelmeier DA, Cialdini RB, 2002. Problems for clinical judgement: 5. Principles of influence in medical practice. CMAJ 166: 1680–1684.
Kalter HD, Hossain M, Burnham G, Khan NZ, Saha SK, Ali MA, Black RE, 1999. Validation of caregiver interviews to diagnose common causes of severe neonatal illness. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 13: 99–113.
Mpimbaza A, Filler S, Katureebe A, Kinara SO, Nzabandora E, Quick L, Ratcliffe A, Wabwire-Mangen F, Chandramohan D, Staedke SG, 2011. Validity of verbal autopsy procedures for determining malaria deaths in different epidemiological settings in Uganda. PLoS One 6: e26892.
Anyangwe SC, Mtonga C, 2007. Inequities in the global health workforce: the greatest impediment to health in sub-Saharan Africa. Int J Environ Res Public Health 4: 93–100.
Yansouni CP, Bottieau E, Chappuis F, Phoba MF, Lunguya O, Ifeka BB, Jacobs J, 2012. Rapid diagnostic tests for a coordinated approach to fever syndromes in low-resource settings. Clin Infect Dis 55: 610–611.
Becker SL, Vogt J, Knopp S, Panning M, Warhurst DC, Polman K, Marti H, von Müller L, Yansouni CP, Jacobs J, Bottieau E, Sacko M, Rijal S, Meyanti F, Miles MA, Boelaert M, Lutumba P, van Lieshout L, N'Goran EK, Chappuis F, Utzinger J, 2013. Persistent digestive disorders in the tropics: causative infectious pathogens and reference diagnostic tests. BMC Infect Dis 13: 37.
Yansouni CP, Bottieau E, Lutumba P, Winkler AS, Lynen L, Büscher P, Jacobs J, Gillet P, Lejon V, Alirol E, Polman K, Utzinger J, Miles MA, Peeling RW, Muyembe JJ, Chappuis F, Boelaert M, 2013. Rapid diagnostic tests for neurological infections in central Africa. Lancet Infect Dis 13: 546–558.
Horrocks S, Anderson E, Salisbury C, 2002. Systematic review of whether nurse practitioners working in primary care can provide equivalent care to doctors. BMJ 324: 819–823.
Vasan A, Kenya-Mugisha N, Seung KJ, Achieng M, Banura P, Lule F, Beems M, Todd J, Madraa E, 2009. Agreement between physicians and non-physician clinicians in starting antiretroviral therapy in rural Uganda. Hum Resour Health 7: 75.
Past two years | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 15 | 15 | 4 |
Full Text Views | 287 | 76 | 0 |
PDF Downloads | 28 | 6 | 0 |