Symptom Validity Performance and Symptom Reports in Patients With Fibromyalgia

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doug Johnson-Greene ◽  
Larry Brooks ◽  
Tamar Ference
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 14-15
Author(s):  
Lee H. Ensalada

Abstract Symptom validity testing (SVT), also known as forced-choice testing, is a means of assessing the validity of sensory and memory deficits, including tactile anesthesias, paresthesias, blindness, color blindness, tunnel vision, blurry vision, and deafness. The common feature among these symptoms is a claimed inability to perceive or remember a sensory signal. SVT comprises two elements: a specific ability is assessed by presenting a large number of items in a multiple-choice format, and then the examinee's performance is compared to the statistical likelihood of success based on chance alone. These tests usually present two alternatives; thus the probability of simply guessing the correct response (equivalent to having no ability at all) is 50%. Thus, scores significantly below chance performance indicate that the sensory cues must have been perceived, but the examinee chose not to report the correct answer—alternative explanations are not apparent. SVT also has the capacity to demonstrate that the examinee performed below the probabilities of chance. Scoring below a norm can be explained by fatigue, evaluation anxiety, inattention, or limited intelligence. Scoring below the probabilities of chance alone most likely indicates deliberate deceptions and is evidence of malingering because it provides strong evidence that the examinee received the sensory cues and denied the perception. Even so, malingering must be evaluated from the total clinical context.


1999 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-4

Abstract Symptom validity testing, also known as forced-choice testing, is a way to assess the validity of sensory and memory deficits, including tactile anesthesias, paresthesias, blindness, color blindness, tunnel vision, blurry vision, and deafness—the common feature of which is a claimed inability to perceive or remember a sensory signal. Symptom validity testing comprises two elements: A specific ability is assessed by presenting a large number of items in a multiple-choice format, and then the examinee's performance is compared with the statistical likelihood of success based on chance alone. Scoring below a norm can be explained in many different ways (eg, fatigue, evaluation anxiety, limited intelligence, and so on), but scoring below the probabilities of chance alone most likely indicates deliberate deception. The positive predictive value of the symptom validity technique likely is quite high because there is no alternative explanation to deliberate distortion when performance is below the probability of chance. The sensitivity of this technique is not likely to be good because, as with a thermometer, positive findings indicate that a problem is present, but negative results do not rule out a problem. Although a compelling conclusion is that the examinee who scores below probabilities is deliberately motivated to perform poorly, malingering must be concluded from the total clinical context.


2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Weaver ◽  
Avanti Jangalapalli ◽  
Kimberly Yano ◽  
Charles Ramskov ◽  
Paul Marcille

Author(s):  
Omer Van den Bergh ◽  
Nadia Zacharioudakis ◽  
Sibylle Petersen

Medical practice and the disease model importantly rely on the accuracy assumption of symptom perception: patients’ symptom reports are a direct and accurate reflection of physiological dysfunction. This implies that symptoms can be used as a read-out of dysfunction and that remedying the dysfunction removes the symptoms. While this assumption is viable in many instances of disease, the relationship between symptoms and physiological dysfunction is highly variable and, in a substantial number of cases, completely absent. This chapter considers symptom perception as a form of unconscious inferential somatic decision-making that compellingly produces consciously experienced symptoms. At a mechanistic level, this perspective removes the categorical distinction between symptoms that are closely associated with physiological dysfunction and those that are not. In addition, it brings symptom perception in accordance with general theories of perception. Some clinical implications to understand and treat symptoms poorly related to physiological dysfunction are discussed.


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 974
Author(s):  
Hayfa Sharif ◽  
Caroline L. Hoad ◽  
Nichola Abrehart ◽  
Penny A. Gowland ◽  
Robin C. Spiller ◽  
...  

Background: Functional constipation in children is common. Management of this condition can be challenging and is often based on symptom reports. Increased, objective knowledge of colonic volume changes in constipation compared to health could provide additional information. However, very little data on paediatric colonic volume is available except from methods that are invasive or require unphysiological colonic preparations. Objectives: (1) To measure volumes of the undisturbed colon in children with functional constipation (FC) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and provide initial normal range values for healthy controls, and (2) to investigate possible correlation of colonic volume with whole gut transit time (WGTT). Methods: Total and regional (ascending, transverse, descending, sigmoid, and rectum) colon volumes were measured from MRI images of 35 participants aged 7–18 years (16 with FC and 19 healthy controls), and corrected for body surface area. Linear regression was used to explore the relationship between total colon volume and WGTT. Results: Total colonic volume was significantly higher, with a median (interquartile range) of 309 mL (243–384 mL) for the FC group than for the healthy controls of 227 mL (180–263 mL). The largest increase between patients and controls was in the sigmoid colon–rectum region. In a linear regression model, there was a positive significant correlation between total colonic volume and WGTT (R = 0.56, p = 0.0005). Conclusions: This initial study shows increased volumes of the colon in children with FC, in a physiological state, without use of any bowel preparation. Increased knowledge of colonic morphology may improve understanding of FC in this age group and help to direct treatment.


Author(s):  
Zachary J. Resch ◽  
Troy A. Webber ◽  
Matthew T. Bernstein ◽  
Tasha Rhoads ◽  
Gabriel P. Ovsiew ◽  
...  

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