• Yukito Shinohara, Kazuo Minematsu, Takahiro Amano, and Yasuo Ohashi.
• Department of Neurology and Center for Stroke and Neurological Diseases, Tokai University Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. yshinohara@is.icc.u-tokai.ac.jp
• Cerebrovasc. Dis. 2006 Jan 1; 21 (4): 271-8.

BackgroundThe modified Rankin scale (mRS) is commonly employed as a measure of functional outcome after stroke. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of the mRS using an expanded guidance scheme and a corresponding questionnaire on an unprecedentedly large scale.MethodsNeurologists interviewed patients with cerebral infarction on the basis of the questionnaire. These interviews were recorded on videotape. Raters (10 neurologists, 6 nurses and 4 physiotherapists) watched the videotapes of 30 patients interviewed and assessed the mRS according to the guidance scheme.ResultsThe agreement between the raters, as estimated from the intraclass correlation coefficient, was found to be satisfactory with values of 0.947 for neurologists and 0.963 for nurses and physiotherapists. The reproducibility was also satisfactory with values of 0.865 and 0.871, respectively.ConclusionThe data obtained suggest that our guidance scheme and questionnaire are useful for ensuring the quality of assessments made with the mRS.

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