Objective: (1) To evaluate whether the Nine Items Questionnaire (WOQ-9) for the detection of wearing-off (WO) in Parkinson Disease (PD), by means of its screening ability, is a helpful tool to assist neurologists in diagnosing WO; (2) To determine the sensitivity and the specificity of a free Brazilian Portuguese translation of WOQ-9.
Method: A sample obtained by convenience included 60 patients. The WOQ-9 was answered by the patients themselves before their routine consultations. The detection of the WO by the WOQ-9 was compared with the neurologist assessment. Statistical significance was 5%.
Results: The WOQ-9 showed sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 10.3%, positive and negative predictive values of 54.4% and 100% respectively. The identification of WO by the WOQ-9 was congruent in 54.5% of cases with neurological evaluation.
Conclusion: The WOQ-9 is a convenient screening tool to aid physicians to detect WO in PD patients, and it is a quick and easy self-administered questionnaire.