Validation of the NARCOMS Registry: pain assessment

2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Ann Marrie ◽  
Gary Cutter ◽  
Tuula Tyry ◽  
Olympia Hadjimichael ◽  
Timothy Vollmer

The North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) Registry is a multiple sclerosis (MS) self-report registry with more than 24 000 participants. Participants report disability status upon enrolment, and semi-annually using Performance Scales (PS), Patient Determined Disease Steps (PDDS) and a pain question. In November 2000 and 2001, we also collected the Pain Effects Scale (PES). Our aim was to validate the NARCOMS pain question using the PES as our criterion measure. We measured correlations between the pain question and age, disease duration, various PS subscales and PDDS to assess construct validity. We correlated pain question responses in participants who reported no change in PDSS or the PS subscales between questionnaires to determine test—retest reliability. We measured responsiveness in participants who reported a substantial change in the sensory, spasticity PS subscales. The correlation between the pain question and PES was r=0.61 in November 2000, and r=0.64 in November 2001 (both P<0.0001). Correlations between the pain question and age, and disease duration were low, indicating divergent validity. Correlations between the pain question and spasticity, sensory PS subscales and PDSS were moderate, indicating convergent validity. Test—retest reliability was r=0.84 (P<0.0001). Responsiveness was 70.7%. The pain question is a valid self-report measure of pain in MS.

Assessment ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
David F. Tolin ◽  
Christina Gilliam ◽  
Bethany M. Wootton ◽  
William Bowe ◽  
Laura B. Bragdon ◽  
...  

Three hundred sixty-two adult patients were administered the Diagnostic Interview for Anxiety, Mood, and OCD and Related Neuropsychiatric Disorders (DIAMOND). Of these, 121 provided interrater reliability data, and 115 provided test–retest reliability data. Participants also completed a battery of self-report measures that assess symptoms of anxiety, mood, and obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. Interrater reliability of DIAMOND anxiety, mood, and obsessive-compulsive and related diagnoses ranged from very good to excellent. Test–retest reliability of DIAMOND diagnoses ranged from good to excellent. Convergent validity was established by significant between-group comparisons on applicable self-report measures for nearly all diagnoses. The results of the present study indicate that the DIAMOND is a promising semistructured diagnostic interview for DSM-5 disorders.


2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 240-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Fallata ◽  
Amber Salter ◽  
Tuula Tyry ◽  
Gary R. Cutter ◽  
Ruth Ann Marrie

Background: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a well-recognized cause of facial pain in the general population, and multiple sclerosis (MS) accounts for some of these cases. However, the prevalence of TN in MS is poorly understood. We investigated the prevalence of TN and how often TN is the initial presentation of MS in a large MS cohort. Methods: In 2009, we surveyed participants in the North America Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis Registry regarding TN, including date of onset and pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments used. We estimated the frequency of TN and the frequency with which TN preceded the diagnosis of MS. We compared the demographic and clinical characteristics of participants who reported TN with those of participants who did not using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Results: Among 8590 eligible survey respondents, the prevalence of TN was 830 (9.7%). Of these respondents, 588 reported the year when TN was diagnosed. The diagnosis of TN preceded that of MS in 88 respondents (15.0%), and the mean ± SD age at diagnosis of TN was 45.3 ± 11.0 years. The odds of reporting TN were higher in women and those with greater disability and longer disease duration. Pharmacologic treatments were used by 88.3% of respondents; 9.7% underwent surgical interventions. Conclusions: In MS, TN occurs frequently and precedes the diagnosis of MS in 15.0% of individuals. Given the frequency of TN in MS, further epidemiological studies and clinical trials to identify effective pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapies for TN in MS are warranted.


Author(s):  
Vahid Farnia ◽  
Mehdi Moradinazar ◽  
Nasrin Abdoli ◽  
Mostafa Alikhani ◽  
Mansour Rezaei ◽  
...  

Background: No standard self-report instrument for withdrawal symptoms is available in Iran. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the 10-item Amphetamine Withdrawal questionnaire version 2 (AWQV2). Methods: A sample of 388 methamphetamine addicts (215 females and 173 males) referred to addiction recovery centers and psychiatric ward of Farabi Hospital in Kermanshah. A two-stage random sampling method was used. The reliability and internal consistency of the AWQV2 items were examined using Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest reliability, respectively, and the instrument validity of the AWQV2 was measured using construct validity and convergent validity. Results: The AWQV2 had a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.72. Factor analysis using the main component analysis with a varimax rotation introduced three factors of hyperarousal, anxiety, and reversed vegetative symptoms. These factors explained 0.58 of the total variance. The coefficient of test-retest reliability at a 2-week interval was equal to 0.77. The convergent validity of the AWQV2 was examined by simultaneously administering the Advanced Warning of Relapse (AWARE) questionnaire to 40 subjects, with a correlation coefficient of 0.81. Conclusions: Based on the results, the AWQV2 has very good psychometric properties and may be used in research and therapeutic interventions.


Author(s):  
Seyed-Mahdi Khaligh-Razavi ◽  
Maryam Sadeghi ◽  
Mahdiyeh Khanbagi ◽  
Chris Kalafatis ◽  
Seyed Massood Nabavi

Abstract Background Cognitive impairment is common in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Accurate and repeatable measures of cognition have the potential to be used as markers of disease activity. Methods We developed a 5-minute computerized test to measure cognitive dysfunction in patients with MS. The proposed test – named the Integrated Cognitive Assessment (ICA) – is self-administered and language-independent. 91 MS patients and 83 healthy controls (HC) took part in Substudy 1, in which each participant took the ICA test and the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS (BICAMS). We assessed ICA’s test-retest reliability, its correlation with BICAMS, its sensitivity to discriminate patients with MS from the HC group, and its accuracy in detecting cognitive dysfunction. In Substudy 2, we recruited 48 MS patients, 38 of which had received an 8-week physical and cognitive rehabilitation programme and 10 MS patients who did not. We examined the association between the level of serum neurofilament light (NfL) in these patients and their ICA scores and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) scores pre- and post-rehabilitation. Results The ICA demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability (r=0.94), with no learning bias, and showed a high level of convergent validity with BICAMS. The ICA was sensitive in discriminating the MS patients from the HC group, and demonstrated high accuracy (AUC = 95%) in discriminating cognitively normal from cognitively impaired participants. Additionally, we found a strong association (r=-0.79) between ICA score and the level of NfL in MS patients before and after rehabilitation. Conclusions The ICA has the potential to be used as a digital marker of cognitive impairment and to monitor response to therapeutic interventions. In comparison to standard cognitive tools for MS, the ICA is shorter in duration, does not show a learning bias, and is independent of language.


2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 583-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Ann Marrie ◽  
Gary Cutter ◽  
Tuula Tyry ◽  
Olympia Hadjimichael ◽  
Denise Campagnolo ◽  
...  

Participants in the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) Registry report disability using Performance Scales (PS), which assess eight domains. We aimed to validate the PS fatigue subscale (PSF) using the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) as external criteria. We measured correlations between the PSF and age, disease duration and PS subscales to assess construct validity. The PSF correlated strongly with the MFIS (r=0.72, p<0.0001) and FSS (r=0.75, p<0.0001). Correlations between the PSF and age, disease duration were low, indicating divergent validity. Correlations between the PSF and spasticity, sensory and mobility PS scales were moderate, indicating convergent validity. The PSF has adequate criterion and construct validity in MS.


Author(s):  
Daniel Guinart ◽  
Renato de Filippis ◽  
Stella Rosson ◽  
Bhagyashree Patil ◽  
Lara Prizgint ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Time constraints limit the use of measurement-based approaches in research and routine clinical management of psychosis. Computerized adaptive testing (CAT) can reduce administration time, thus increasing measurement efficiency. This study aimed to develop and test the capacity of the CAT-Psychosis battery, both self-administered and rater-administered, to measure the severity of psychotic symptoms and discriminate psychosis from healthy controls. Methods An item bank was developed and calibrated. Two raters administered CAT-Psychosis for inter-rater reliability (IRR). Subjects rated themselves and were retested within 7 days for test-retest reliability. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) was administered for convergent validity and chart diagnosis, and the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID) was used to test psychosis discriminant validity. Results Development and calibration study included 649 psychotic patients. Simulations revealed a correlation of r = .92 with the total 73-item bank score, using an average of 12 items. Validation study included 160 additional patients and 40 healthy controls. CAT-Psychosis showed convergent validity (clinician: r = 0.690; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.610–0.757; self-report: r = .690; 95% CI: 0.609–0.756), IRR (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.733; 95% CI: 0.611–0.828), and test-retest reliability (clinician ICC = 0.862; 95% CI: 0.767–0.922; self-report ICC = 0.815; 95%CI: 0.741–0.871). CAT-Psychosis could discriminate psychosis from healthy controls (clinician: area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] = 0.965, 95% CI: 0.945–0.984; self-report AUC = 0.850, 95% CI: 0.807–0.894). The median length of the clinician-administered assessment was 5 minutes (interquartile range [IQR]: 3:23–8:29 min) and 1 minute, 20 seconds (IQR: 0:57–2:09 min) for the self-report. Conclusion CAT-Psychosis can quickly and reliably assess the severity of psychosis and discriminate psychotic patients from healthy controls, creating an opportunity for frequent remote assessment and patient/population-level follow-up.


2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 675-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph HB Benedict ◽  
Darcy Cox ◽  
Laetitia L Thompson ◽  
Fred Foley ◽  
Bianca Weinstock-Guttman ◽  
...  

In an earlier study, we developed the Multiple Sclerosis Neuropsychological Screening Questionnaire (MSNQ) to assist in the screening for neuropsychological (NP) impairments. Self-report MSNQ scores correlated significantly with measures of depression, whereas informant-report MSNQ scores correlated with cognitive performance, but not depression. This study was criticized for use of a small sample and lack of data regarding normal performance and test -retest reliability. The present study was designed to replicate the earlier work with a larger sample of patients and normal controls obtained from multiple sites. We also evaluated the test -retest reliability and predictive validity of the MSNQ. The sample included 85 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and 40 normal controls, matched on demographic variables. All participants completed the MSNQ and underwent NP testing. Thirty-four patients were re-examined at one week. Pearson and ANOVA techniques were utilized for univariate comparisons. Bayesian statistics were calculated to assess predictive validity. Patient self- and informant-report MSNQ scores differed from normal and test -retest reliability indices were high. Both self- and informant-reports were correlated with cognitive dysfunction and depression scales. Self-report MSNQ scores correlated more strongly with depression than cognitive performance, whereas the opposite pattern was observed with informant-report scores. Bayesian statistics showed that informant-report MSNQ scores predict cognitive impairment and patient self-report scores identify patients with cognitive impairment or depression. It is concluded that the MSNQ is useful, although patient self-reports may be exaggerated in depressed patients or reduced in patients with severe cognitive impairment.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed-Mahdi Khaligh-Razavi ◽  
Maryam Sadeghi ◽  
Mahdiyeh Khanbagi ◽  
Chris Kalafatis ◽  
Seyed Massood Nabavi

Abstract Background Cognitive impairment is common in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Accurate and repeatable measures of cognition have the potential to be used as markers of disease activity. Methods We developed a 5-minute computerized test to measure cognitive dysfunction in patients with MS. The proposed test – named the Integrated Cognitive Assessment (ICA) – is self-administered and language-independent. 91 MS patients and 83 healthy controls (HC) took part in Substudy 1, in which each participant took the ICA test and the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS (BICAMS). We assessed ICA’s test-retest reliability, its correlation with BICAMS, its sensitivity to discriminate patients with MS from the HC group, and its accuracy in detecting cognitive dysfunction. In Substudy 2, we recruited 48 MS patients, 38 of which had received an 8-week physical and cognitive rehabilitation programme and 10 MS patients who did not. We examined the association between the level of serum neurofilament light (NfL) in these patients and their ICA scores and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) scores pre- and post-rehabilitation. Results The ICA demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability (r=0.94), with no learning bias, and showed a high level of convergent validity with BICAMS. The ICA was sensitive in discriminating the MS patients from the HC group, and demonstrated high accuracy (AUC = 95%) in discriminating cognitively normal from cognitively impaired participants. Additionally, we found a strong association (r=-0.79) between ICA score and the level of NfL in MS patients before and after rehabilitation. Conclusions The ICA has the potential to be used as a digital marker of cognitive impairment and to monitor response to therapeutic interventions. In comparison to standard cognitive tools for MS, the ICA is shorter in duration, does not show a learning bias, and is independent of language.


2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Casey Jordan Mace ◽  
Ralph Maddison ◽  
Timothy Olds ◽  
Ngaire Kerse

Background:The Multimedia Activity Recall for Children and Adults (MARCA) is a computerized recall instrument that records use of time during 24 hr the previous day and has been developed to address limitations of current self-report physical activity measures for those in advanced age.Methods:Test–retest reliability and convergent validity of the adult MARCA were assessed in a sample of 45 advanced-age adults (age 84.9SD ±1.62 yr) as a subsample of the Life and Living in Advanced-Age Cohort Study New Zealand (LiLACS NZ). Test–retest methods required participants to recall the previous day’s activity using the MARCA twice within the same day. Convergent validity was assessed against accelerometry.Results:Test–retest reliability was high, with ICCs greater than .99 for moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and physical activity level (PAL). Compared with accelerometry, the MARCA demonstrated validity comparable to other self-report instruments with Spearman’s coefficients of .34 and .59 for time spent in nonsedentary physical activity and PAL.Conclusion:The MARCA is a valid and reliable self-report tool for physical activity behaviors in advanced-age adults.


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