Developmental medicine and child neurology
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Dev Med Child Neurol · Jun 2011
Moving towards meaningful measurement: Rasch analysis of the North Star Ambulatory Assessment in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Reliable measurement of disease progression and the effect of therapeutic interventions in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) require clinically meaningful and scientifically sound rating scales. Therefore, we need robust evidence to support such tools. The North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA) is a promising, clinician-rated scale with potential uses spanning clinical practice and clinical trials. In this study, we used Rasch analysis to test its suitability in these roles as a measurement instrument. ⋯ In general, Rasch analysis supported the NSAA as a psychometrically robust scale for use in DMD clinical research and trials. This study also demonstrates how Rasch analysis is a useful instrument to detect and understand the key measurement issues of rating scales.
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Dev Med Child Neurol · Mar 2011
ABC/2: estimating intracerebral haemorrhage volume and total brain volume, and predicting outcome in children.
Few data exist to aid the clinician in prognosis after paediatric intracerebral haemorrhages (ICHs). Recently, ICH volume as a per cent of total brain volume (TBV) was shown to help predict outcomes in children. Thus, we sought to develop a bedside method of TBV estimation using typical hospital imaging software, and to validate the ABC/2 method for children in order to determine ICH volume and aid prognosis. ⋯ The ABC/2 × slice thickness method is a possible bedside tool for the clinician that can aid prognosis after paediatric ICH.
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Dev Med Child Neurol · Mar 2011
Meta AnalysisThe association of genetic polymorphisms with cerebral palsy: a meta-analysis.
The aim of our meta-analysis was to summarize quantitatively the association of genetic polymorphisms with cerebral palsy (CP). ⋯ This meta-analysis demonstrated that CP is associated with the genetic polymorphism IL-6 (rs1800795).
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Dev Med Child Neurol · Feb 2011
The relation between children's pain behaviour and developmental characteristics: a cross-sectional study.
To determine whether children with developmental disabilities show responses to pain that vary according to developmental level. ⋯ Pain behaviour was distinct from developmental factors in two separate analyses using two functional measures. Clinicians can be confident that pain assessment with the NCCPC-R is not affected by children's developmental level.