Abstract
Background: The accuracy of reports made by male primary care patients of previous screening for prostate cancer with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) assay is important for clinical practice, surveillance, and research. Methods: As part of a clinical trial that evaluated a decision aid for prostate cancer screening, 133 male primary care patients, aged 45 to 70 years, were contacted 1 year after enrollment and asked whether they had received PSA testing. To corroborate these self-reports, each patient's clinic and hospital medical records were reviewed for evidence of PSA test results. Results: The raw percentage agreement between self-reported PSA testing and the medical records was 74.4% (κ=0.48). When compared to the findings of the medical record reviews, apparent overreporting by some patients was explained by problems with recalling the test within the 1-year time frame (4.5%) and by having been tested outside of the medical center (5.3%). Uncertainty about having been tested was reported by six (4.5%) patients with PSA test results in their medical records. Misreported testing could not be explained for 11.3% of patients. Patients who had not completed high school were 2.7 times more likely to misreport PSA testing (95% confidence interval, 1.61-3.87). Conclusions: The accuracy of primary care patients' self-reports of previous PSA testing is questionable. Errors in reporting are due largely to problems with recalling a test within a specific time frame or to testing outside of the primary care setting. Under-reporting is a problem for patients uncertain of previous testing.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 56-58 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | American Journal of Preventive Medicine |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2002 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Cite this
The accuracy of primary care patients' self-reports of prostate-specific antigen testing. / Volk, Robert J.; Cass, Alvah R.
In: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Vol. 22, No. 1, 2002, p. 56-58.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The accuracy of primary care patients' self-reports of prostate-specific antigen testing
AU - Volk, Robert J.
AU - Cass, Alvah R.
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - Background: The accuracy of reports made by male primary care patients of previous screening for prostate cancer with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) assay is important for clinical practice, surveillance, and research. Methods: As part of a clinical trial that evaluated a decision aid for prostate cancer screening, 133 male primary care patients, aged 45 to 70 years, were contacted 1 year after enrollment and asked whether they had received PSA testing. To corroborate these self-reports, each patient's clinic and hospital medical records were reviewed for evidence of PSA test results. Results: The raw percentage agreement between self-reported PSA testing and the medical records was 74.4% (κ=0.48). When compared to the findings of the medical record reviews, apparent overreporting by some patients was explained by problems with recalling the test within the 1-year time frame (4.5%) and by having been tested outside of the medical center (5.3%). Uncertainty about having been tested was reported by six (4.5%) patients with PSA test results in their medical records. Misreported testing could not be explained for 11.3% of patients. Patients who had not completed high school were 2.7 times more likely to misreport PSA testing (95% confidence interval, 1.61-3.87). Conclusions: The accuracy of primary care patients' self-reports of previous PSA testing is questionable. Errors in reporting are due largely to problems with recalling a test within a specific time frame or to testing outside of the primary care setting. Under-reporting is a problem for patients uncertain of previous testing.
AB - Background: The accuracy of reports made by male primary care patients of previous screening for prostate cancer with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) assay is important for clinical practice, surveillance, and research. Methods: As part of a clinical trial that evaluated a decision aid for prostate cancer screening, 133 male primary care patients, aged 45 to 70 years, were contacted 1 year after enrollment and asked whether they had received PSA testing. To corroborate these self-reports, each patient's clinic and hospital medical records were reviewed for evidence of PSA test results. Results: The raw percentage agreement between self-reported PSA testing and the medical records was 74.4% (κ=0.48). When compared to the findings of the medical record reviews, apparent overreporting by some patients was explained by problems with recalling the test within the 1-year time frame (4.5%) and by having been tested outside of the medical center (5.3%). Uncertainty about having been tested was reported by six (4.5%) patients with PSA test results in their medical records. Misreported testing could not be explained for 11.3% of patients. Patients who had not completed high school were 2.7 times more likely to misreport PSA testing (95% confidence interval, 1.61-3.87). Conclusions: The accuracy of primary care patients' self-reports of previous PSA testing is questionable. Errors in reporting are due largely to problems with recalling a test within a specific time frame or to testing outside of the primary care setting. Under-reporting is a problem for patients uncertain of previous testing.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0036137505&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0749-3797(01)00397-X
DO - 10.1016/S0749-3797(01)00397-X
M3 - Article
VL - 22
SP - 56
EP - 58
JO - American Journal of Preventive Medicine
JF - American Journal of Preventive Medicine
SN - 0749-3797
IS - 1
ER -