General practitioners often need to track outcomes of whiplash patients, and a disability questionnaire may be useful. Whiplash patients who attended primary care clinics in Edmonton, Canada were interviewed 3 months postcollision. Subjects were asked a global recovery question: 'Do you feel you have recovered fully from your accident injuries?' Subjects then completed the Whiplash Disability Questionnaire (WDQ). A total of 131 subjects participated. Of these, 52 (39.7%) reported that they felt they had recovered. Those who reported complete recovery had a mean WDQ score of 2.5 and those who reported they had not recovered had a mean WDQ score of 29.9. All who responded 'yes' to the recovery question had a WDQ score below 13, while all those responding 'no' to the recovery question had a WDQ score of 13 or more. The WDQ as an outcome measure may be useful in clinical practice. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting