Autoimmune diseases are a class of diseases that result from an abnormal reaction to the body’s tissues. This reaction causes inflammation and damage to tissues, organs, and body structures, leading to pain, fatigue, and other medical symptoms. There are more than 80 known autoimmune diseases that affect people of all ages, genders, and ethnicities.
The journey to diagnosis can be challenging due to the wide range of symptoms that may be unrelated on the surface. Early treatment within the “window of opportunity” could significantly improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. Thus methods to do so should be analyzed, so patients can be given a prompt diagnosis to start treatment and potentially prevent further complications.
“On average, autoimmune patients see four different doctors over a four-year period before a diagnosis is made.”
Connective tissue disease screening questionnaire (CSQ)
The connective tissue disease screening questionnaire (CSQ) is a 30-item questionnaire created 2 decades ago to aid people with symptoms of autoimmune disease in identifying the risk of having one. The CSQ consists of a set of yes or no questions to screen for 6 connective tissue disorders:
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
- Scleroderma (SSc)
- Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM): Polymyositis or Dermatomyositis
- Sjögren’s syndrome (SjS)
- Mixed CTD (MCTD)
It includes questions on symptoms and health history, which can help detect possible undiagnosed diseases. The test takes about 20 minutes to complete and interprets the scores based on statistical calculations.
It is an aid in the diagnosis, not a replacement for a thorough history, physical examination, and laboratory testing.
Adapted CSQ (2021)
The adapted connective tissue disease screening questionnaire (CSQ) was introduced in 2021 to assess the risk of having an autoimmune rheumatic disease with the advantage of having less stringent clinical criteria than the original CSQ version. New classification criteria were created for earlier identification of these autoimmune rheumatic diseases by focusing on their early-stage features rather than late-stage features.