Evaluation of a self-diagnostic tool for Dupuytren's disease in rock climbers

Abstract

Objective To determine the validity of a self-diagnostic questionnaire for Dupuytren's disease among rock climbers. Methods A simple, self-diagnostic questionnaire for Dupuytren's disease was freely distributed to climbers in Austria and Germany. None of the subjects were medically prescreened. The questionnaire consisted of four questions with pictures concerning their present diagnosis and the differential diagnosis for Dupuytren's disease. Medical experts then clinically examined those climbers who completed the questionnaire for Dupuytren's disease. Results Sixty-one climbers (46 men, 15 women; mean age 32 [13] years; climbing for 10 [11] years) participated in the survey; 16 participants were competition climbers. Clinical diagnosis of Dupuytren's disease was confirmed in five cases (8.2%). The questionnaire produced no false-negatives, but there were three (4.8%) false-positive results in this sample. The correlation between the self-diagnostic tool and the clinical examination was r = 0.62 ( P = 0.005). No significant difference ( P = 0.250) was found between the self-diagnostic tool and the clinical examination. The sensitivity of the self-diagnostic tool in a sample of rock climbers was 100%, and its specificity 94.9%. Conclusions The questionnaire is an accurate and precise self-diagnostic tool for rock climbers to determine the diagnosis of Dupuytren's disease.