GLOBUS PHARYNGIS - DEVELOPMENT OF A SYMPTOM ASSESSMENT SCALE

One hundred and five consecutive patients attending an ENT out-patient s' clinic with a diagnosis of globus pharyngis completed a 10-item que stionnaire concerning common throat symptoms. Principal components ana lysis of the questionnaire revealed a general throat pathology factor, and three orthogonal rotated factors which were related to dysphagia, globus sensation, and pain/swelling in the throat. Of 10 throat sympt oms, the globus patients most commonly complained of: ''Feeling of som ething stuck in the throat,'' ''Discomfort/irritation in the throat,'' and ''Want to swallow all the time.'' These were the symptoms which h ad highest loadings on the 'globus' factor. The clear factor structure and the satisfactory internal consistency of the Glasgow-Edinburgh Th roat Scale (GETS) suggest that it offers a clinically useful instrumen t for assessing and monitoring the severity of some common throat ailm ents. The degree of distress caused by throat symptoms was predicted i ndependently by the intensity of the globus sensation and by anxiety l evel.