[Development of a German language questionnaire for assessing chronic pruritus (AGP-questionnaire): background and first results]

Abstract

Chronic pruritus may manifest itself clinically in terms of different duration, intensity and quality. There is no questionnaire assessing these parameters systematically. The study presents a pruritus questionnaire for the German speaking region (AGP-Questionnaire) developed by 4 experts in the field. It comprises questions on course, intensity and quality of pruritus, general health status, sociodemographic data, quality of life (QoL) and pruritus cognition. Standardised questionnaires such as the SF-12 Health Survey (recall period 4 weeks), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) were also used to assess the instrument's convergent validity. Feedback of the participants was obtained by a one-page evaluation sheet. 100 patients suffering from chronic pruritus of the university hospitals of Giessen, Heidelberg, Munich and Muenster participated in the study. This questionnaire is useful in providing a comprehensive and structured approach to assessing individual patients' chronic pruritus. The validity and sensitivity of this new pruritus questionnaire will require examination in further studies.