Objective: This study investigated the inter- and intra-rater reliability of the Australian Spasticity Assessment Scale (ASAS) in adults with unilateral hypertonia following acquired brain injury. The ASAS has been sh...Objective: This study investigated the inter- and intra-rater reliability of the Australian Spasticity Assessment Scale (ASAS) in adults with unilateral hypertonia following acquired brain injury. The ASAS has been shown to be superior to other clinical tools for the assessment of spasticity in children with cerebral palsy but reliability has not been previously examined in adults. Method: Four muscle groups were rated on one occasion by four assessors using the ASAS in sixteen adults with unilateral hypertonia following acquired brain injury. Twelve participants returned one week later for reassessment by the same assessors. Results: Overall inter-rater reliability of the ASAS using a quadratic weighted Kappa was moderate (Kqw 0.58) with ranges from moderate to good (Kqw 0.42 - 0.70). Agreement between raters was greatest for soleus muscle and least for wrist flexors. Overall intra-rater reliability of each of the four raters was moderate to good (Kqw 0.48 - 0.79). Agreement within raters was greatest for soleus muscle and least for biceps muscle. Conclusions: The ASAS may represent an appropriate alternative to the clinical scales currently used to assess spasticity;however inter and intra-rater reliability data from this investigation are lower than those which have previously been reported by experienced users of the ASAS in children with cerebral palsy. Further investigation with a larger sample size is warranted before any firm conclusions may be drawn about the reliability and validity of this tool to assess spasticity in adults with acquired brain injury.展开更多
Objective:To determine the level of agreement among experienced operators of candidacy for upper airway stimulation (UAS) based on evaluation of drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE).Methods:The trial was designed as a ...Objective:To determine the level of agreement among experienced operators of candidacy for upper airway stimulation (UAS) based on evaluation of drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE).Methods:The trial was designed as a single-blinded cross-sectional study.Four otolaryngologists with extensive DISE experience were given 63 video clips from the STAR trial video library.These videos were graded using the VOTE classification.Percentage agreement and Cohen's k (for inter-rater reliability) were calculated between pairs of reviewers,assessing palatal complete concentric collapse (CCC) and determining UAS eligibility.Subjects were also grouped based on collapse severity for each reviewer.Results:The reviewers had excellent (approximately 90％) agreement on findings at the level of the soft palate and tongue base.The inter-rater reliability for palatal CCC ranged from mod erate to substantial The agreement on determining the criteria for UAS implantation ranged from poor to moderate.All 4 upper airway structures as classified by the criteria of the VOTE were graded by all the reviewers as contributing to obstruction in a majority of subjects who were performed via application of DISE.Conclusion:Application of DISE remains a subjective examination,even among those experienced operators,therefore more studies need to be performed for evaluation of improvement in inter-rater reliability after implantation of training videos.展开更多
文摘Objective: This study investigated the inter- and intra-rater reliability of the Australian Spasticity Assessment Scale (ASAS) in adults with unilateral hypertonia following acquired brain injury. The ASAS has been shown to be superior to other clinical tools for the assessment of spasticity in children with cerebral palsy but reliability has not been previously examined in adults. Method: Four muscle groups were rated on one occasion by four assessors using the ASAS in sixteen adults with unilateral hypertonia following acquired brain injury. Twelve participants returned one week later for reassessment by the same assessors. Results: Overall inter-rater reliability of the ASAS using a quadratic weighted Kappa was moderate (Kqw 0.58) with ranges from moderate to good (Kqw 0.42 - 0.70). Agreement between raters was greatest for soleus muscle and least for wrist flexors. Overall intra-rater reliability of each of the four raters was moderate to good (Kqw 0.48 - 0.79). Agreement within raters was greatest for soleus muscle and least for biceps muscle. Conclusions: The ASAS may represent an appropriate alternative to the clinical scales currently used to assess spasticity;however inter and intra-rater reliability data from this investigation are lower than those which have previously been reported by experienced users of the ASAS in children with cerebral palsy. Further investigation with a larger sample size is warranted before any firm conclusions may be drawn about the reliability and validity of this tool to assess spasticity in adults with acquired brain injury.
文摘Objective:To determine the level of agreement among experienced operators of candidacy for upper airway stimulation (UAS) based on evaluation of drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE).Methods:The trial was designed as a single-blinded cross-sectional study.Four otolaryngologists with extensive DISE experience were given 63 video clips from the STAR trial video library.These videos were graded using the VOTE classification.Percentage agreement and Cohen's k (for inter-rater reliability) were calculated between pairs of reviewers,assessing palatal complete concentric collapse (CCC) and determining UAS eligibility.Subjects were also grouped based on collapse severity for each reviewer.Results:The reviewers had excellent (approximately 90％) agreement on findings at the level of the soft palate and tongue base.The inter-rater reliability for palatal CCC ranged from mod erate to substantial The agreement on determining the criteria for UAS implantation ranged from poor to moderate.All 4 upper airway structures as classified by the criteria of the VOTE were graded by all the reviewers as contributing to obstruction in a majority of subjects who were performed via application of DISE.Conclusion:Application of DISE remains a subjective examination,even among those experienced operators,therefore more studies need to be performed for evaluation of improvement in inter-rater reliability after implantation of training videos.
