Methods:
(1) Patients completed a questionnaire, so no interobserver variation was introduced..
(2) Initially the symptoms were measured for 5 sequential days, but the findings were similar so that symptoms were only queried for the day of completion.
(3) Each parameter was given equal weight.
Initial Parameters for Anal Disease Activity Index
Symptoms related to tissue tension or inflammation:
(1) continuous, spontaneous perianal pain
(2) perianal itching
Symptoms related to sphincter control or disorder:
(3) pain during defecation
(4) anal leakage
Inhibition of normal activity due to perianal discomfort:
(5) locomotion
(6) social activities (visiting friends, entertainment, sport recreation)
(7) sexual activity
Final Parameters for Index
After initial evaluation, 3 parameters were found to have a good discriminant value and to provide a good index of response to treatment:
(1) continuous, spontaneous perianal pain
(3) pain during defecation
(5) inhibition of locomotion due to pain
Scoring of Index
Each finding was graded on a linear analog scale from 0 (none) to 10 (extreme).
average score =
= SUM(parameters measured) / (number of parameters measured)
