The Self-Administered Screening Questionnaire for Parkinson's Disease-Associated Psychosis (SASPAP)

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Psychiatry
• Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

• Psychosis is a frequent and burdensome complication of Parkinson's disease (PD).
• Current methods for detecting PD-associated psychosis are limited, as patients often do not volunteer symptoms.
• There is a need for a validated screening tool for psychosis in Parkinson's disease.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Self-Administered Screening Questionnaire for PD-Associated Psychosis (SASPAP).
• To assess the diagnostic accuracy of SASPAP against established clinical assessments.

Main Methods:

• The SASPAP was developed using a modified Delphi method involving clinicians, patients, and advocates.
• The questionnaire underwent revisions and patient beta-testing.
• 250 Parkinson's disease patients completed the SASPAP at intake; results were compared with the Parkinson's Disease Psychosis Scale (PDPS) and physician interviews.

Main Results:

• The study included 250 Parkinson's disease patients (mean age 68.6 years).
• The SASPAP identified psychosis in 33.6% of patients.
• The SASPAP demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy with 87.8% sensitivity and 92.3% specificity compared to gold standard assessments.

Conclusions:

• The four-question SASPAP is a highly accurate, self-administered screening tool for Parkinson's disease psychosis.
• SASPAP can be effectively used at clinic visit intake to facilitate early identification of psychosis.
• This tool addresses the need for a validated screening method for PD-associated psychosis.