Evaluation of the 6‐item Identify Chronic Migraine screener in a large medical group

Abstract

ObjectiveTo evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the 6‐item Identify Chronic Migraine screener (ID‐CM[6]), designed to improve the detection of chronic migraine (CM).BackgroundCM is often undertreated and underdiagnosed. Survey‐based studies have found that approximately 75–80% of people meeting criteria for CM do not report having received an accurate diagnosis.MethodsThis study used claims data of patients enrolled in a large medical group who had at least one medical claim with an International Classification of Diseases 9th/10th revision diagnostic code for migraine in the 12‐month prescreening period. The Identify Chronic Migraine survey was administered by e‐mail, in‐person, or over the telephone to all enrolled patients. A Semi‐Structured Diagnostic Interview (SSDI) was administered by telephone by a trained physician. The ID‐CM(6) and SSDI classifications of CM status were compared to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of the ID‐CM(6) screening tool.ResultsThe analysis of the ID‐CM(6) screening tool included 109 patients, with 65/109 (59.6%) positive for CM based on the SSDI. The mean (standard deviation) age of the patient sample was 49 (15) years and 100/109 (91.7%) were female. Using the SSDI as the diagnostic gold standard, the ID‐CM(6) had a sensitivity of 70.8% (46/65) and a specificity of 93.2% (41/44).ConclusionThe ID‐CM(6) demonstrated acceptable sensitivity and good specificity in determining CM status. The results of this analysis support the real‐world utility of the ID‐CM(6) as a simple and useful tool to identify patients with CM.