TY - JOUR
T1 - A novel muscle cramp scale (MCS) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
AU - Mitsumoto, Hiroshi
AU - Chiuzan, Codruta
AU - Gilmore, Madison
AU - Zhang, Yuan
AU - Ibagon, Camila
AU - McHale, Brittany
AU - Hupf, Jonathan
AU - Oskarsson, BjÖrn
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, © 2019 World Federation of Neurology on behalf of the Research Group on Motor Neuron Diseases.
PY - 2019/7/3
Y1 - 2019/7/3
N2 - Objective: To develop a novel muscle cramp scale (MCS) to assess frequency, severity and clinically meaningful information related to cramps among patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods: This new scale comprises four 5-point subdomains: (1) triggering factors, (2) frequency, (3) location, (4) severity, and (5) the degree to which cramps affect overall daily living. Thirty patients with ALS, who experienced at least 5 cramps per week, participated in a randomized test-retest study. An additional 26 patients participated in a second study assessing cramp changes over 4 weeks using the MCS and a detailed cramp diary. Results: To establish internal reliability of the scale, a Cronbach’s coefficient value of 0.75 or higher was considered acceptable. Test/retest evaluations comparing in-person and telephone administration were assessed using paired t-tests and Cohen’s kappa statistics. Non-significant differences were identified, and the results revealed moderate to high agreement for each item (range 0.60 to 0.95, p < 0.0001). Scale construct validity against the cramp diary was acceptable. There were essentially no significant mean differences in muscle cramps over 4 weeks measured using the MCS and diary, respectively. Conclusions: The MCS is a valid, simple, and quick measure for the assessment of muscle cramps in patients with ALS. It can be reliably administered either in person or by telephone and provides richer information than the routinely utilized cramp diary.
AB - Objective: To develop a novel muscle cramp scale (MCS) to assess frequency, severity and clinically meaningful information related to cramps among patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods: This new scale comprises four 5-point subdomains: (1) triggering factors, (2) frequency, (3) location, (4) severity, and (5) the degree to which cramps affect overall daily living. Thirty patients with ALS, who experienced at least 5 cramps per week, participated in a randomized test-retest study. An additional 26 patients participated in a second study assessing cramp changes over 4 weeks using the MCS and a detailed cramp diary. Results: To establish internal reliability of the scale, a Cronbach’s coefficient value of 0.75 or higher was considered acceptable. Test/retest evaluations comparing in-person and telephone administration were assessed using paired t-tests and Cohen’s kappa statistics. Non-significant differences were identified, and the results revealed moderate to high agreement for each item (range 0.60 to 0.95, p < 0.0001). Scale construct validity against the cramp diary was acceptable. There were essentially no significant mean differences in muscle cramps over 4 weeks measured using the MCS and diary, respectively. Conclusions: The MCS is a valid, simple, and quick measure for the assessment of muscle cramps in patients with ALS. It can be reliably administered either in person or by telephone and provides richer information than the routinely utilized cramp diary.
KW - ALS
KW - assessment measure
KW - muscle cramp scale
KW - muscle cramps
KW - test-retest
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U2 - 10.1080/21678421.2019.1603310
DO - 10.1080/21678421.2019.1603310
M3 - Article
C2 - 31007059
AN - SCOPUS:85064705663
SN - 2167-8421
VL - 20
SP - 328
EP - 335
JO - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration
JF - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration
IS - 5-6
ER -