Influence of type of questionnaire on the prevalence of coughing in patients taking angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI)

Abstract

We performed a pharmacoepidemiological study on the effect of different types of questionnaires on coughing and the prevalence of this symptom in out patients taking angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) in Fukui Medical School Hospital. The following three types of questionnaires were prepared: Type 1: Questionnaire asking whether the patient has a cough or no after implying that ACEI might cause this symptom. Type 2: Questionnaire on the general adverse effects of ACEI, including coughing. Type 3: Questionnaire on the general adverse effects of ACEI other than coughing. All questionnaires included a blank space in which the patients were asked to write any adverse effects. The patients were randomly divided into three groups. Each group was given one of the three questionnaires. In the type 3 questionnaire, no patient complained of coughing. The prevalence of cough was higher in type 1 questionnaire than in type 2 questionnaire patients. These results indicate that the prevalence of adverse effects varies greatly depending the type of questions in the questionnaire.