All self-reported diabetes case subjects were sent a supplemental questionnaire to ascertain symptoms, diagnostic tests, and treatment; standard criteria were used to confirm type 2 diabetes.
Data were collected to ascertain symptoms, asthma history and indoor environmental exposures (questionnaire), endotoxin (dust collection from the play area floor and child's mattress), and tobacco smoke exposure (saliva collection).
Using the CAPA, the number of parent-reported DSM-IV inattentive symptoms (maximum nine) and impulsive symptoms (maximum four) was ascertained (hyperactivity symptoms were also assessed, but were not analyzed here as there was no prior evidence for STS effects on this measure).
Active TB was ascertained by symptoms, chest X-ray and AFB smear and culture in The Gambia [16], and by symptoms, chest X-ray and AFB smear in Pakistan [14].
The study staff also ascertained leg symptoms, testing for PAD (e.g., angiography), or invasive therapy for PAD.
We ascertained patients' symptoms both from the endoscopy records and from the referral notes, and for the majority of patients the descriptions of the presenting symptoms from the two sources were in agreement.
Ocular symptoms (ascertained using the standardised symptom screening questionnaire) were not independently predictive of ocular disease and although the specificity for HIV-related eye disease was high (92%; 95%CI: 86.1-96.3%), the sensitivity and positive predictive value were very low (7.7%, 95% CI: 1.3-26.6% and 18%, 95%CI: 3.2-52.2%, respectively) (Table 4).
Evidence was also found of the model׳s method invariance, with both factors strongly self-associated across method forms when ascertained as symptom-specific motivations.
150 years later, we continue to struggle with the same challenges in ascertaining accurate symptoms from patients.
