Verifying the Stroke-Free Phenotype by Structured Telephone Interview

Abstract

Background and Purpose—Case-control, cohort, and twin studies support a genetic contribution to ischemic stroke risk. Sibling pair linkage methods require identification of concordant or discordant siblings or both. We designed and tested a structured telephone interview to verify the stroke-free phenotype. Methods—A coordinator unaware of medical record data used an 8-item questionnaire to conduct a structured telephone interview of 70 outpatients aged >60 years. The questionnaire inquired about the sudden onset of deficits in strength, sensation, vision, and language. A subject was defined as stroke free by interview if responses to all items on the questionnaire were negative. Results of the telephone interview were compared with data obtained from a systematic medical record review (benchmark). Results—Interview time was 5 minutes or less for all subjects. All subjects who began the interview completed it. Records were reviewed in all subjects. Medical record review detected ischemic stroke or transie...