Multiple Sclerosis

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Register here to gain access to SAGE's 500+ Journals Online

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (2)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Brown, L N
Right arrow Articles by Eliasziw, M
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Brown, L N
Right arrow Articles by Eliasziw, M
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Multiple Sclerosis, Vol. 12, No. 5, 573-577 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1352458506070659

Identifying reliable change in tactile temporal thresholds in multiple sclerosis: test-retest reliability

L N Brown

Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, lnbrown{at}ucalgary.ca

L M Metz

Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

M Eliasziw

Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Background Tactile temporal thresholds are typically significantly higher (ie, prolonged) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients when compared to controls and increase significantly during relapses, probably reflecting integrity of conduction across a portion of the corpus callosum. As part of an ongoing validation study of tactile temporal thresholds, the test-retest reliability of these thresholds was examined in patients with MS.

Methods Tactile temporal thresholds were measured in 61 MS patients during two separate test sessions within three weeks. Test-retest reliability and the standard error of measurement were calculated. The threshold of change in tactile temporal thresholds in MS patients that would correspond to real change beyond measurement error with 95% certainty was also calculated.

Results The test-retest reliability of this measure of tactile temporal thresholds was 0.93. The threshold indicating change beyond chance or measurement error with 95% certainty was 19 ms.

Conclusions This measure of tactile temporal thresholds has excellent test - retest reliability and a change of greater than 19 ms is highly likely to represent real change. This measure is promising as a precise, reliable outcome measure in MS.

Key Words: measurement error • multiple sclerosis • outcome measure • psychophysics • reliable change • tactile • temporal processing • test - retest reliability


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?