Identification and measurement of dystonia in cerebral palsy

AIM

To establish the prevalence and severity of dystonia in a population of children with cerebral palsy (CP) with hypertonia assessment and measurement tools.

METHOD

A cross-sectional study of 151 children (84 males, 67 females) with CP who were assessed with the Hypertonia Assessment Tool (HAT) and Barry-Albright Dystonia scale (BAD) for identification and measurement of severity of dystonia. HAT dystonia items were assessed for construct and convergent validity.

RESULTS

Distribution by predominant motor type (PMT) was: 85% spastic, 14% dyskinetic, and 1% ataxic. Spastic and dyskinetic groups showed widespread evidence of dystonia according to HAT profiles and BAD scores. The dyskinetic PMT group had a higher mean BAD score than the spastic group (difference of 13 units, 95% CI 9.1-16.4). Dystonia severity (BAD score) increased linearly across gross motor (p<0.001), manual ability (p<0.001) and communication functional levels (p<0.001). Divergence was noted in how HAT item six identified dystonia compared to items one and two.

INTERPRETATION

The HAT provided an estimate of the prevalence of both spasticity and dystonia in a large CP population, beyond predominant motor type. Dystonia is a common finding in the spastic PMT group, and its severity increases as motor function worsens.

WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS

Dystonia is readily identified in cerebral palsy (CP) using the Hypertonia Assessment Tool, regardless of the predominant motor type. Spasticity and dystonia frequently coexist in the CP population. Severity of dystonia is inversely related to motor function.

Preliminary development and validation of a new end-of-life patient-reported outcome measure assessing the ability of patients to finalise their affairs at the end of life

Introduction

The ability of patients to finalise their affairs at the end of life is an often neglected aspect of quality of life (QOL) measurement in palliative care effectiveness research despite compelling evidence of the high value patients place on this domain.

Objective

This paper describes the preliminary development and evaluation of a new, single-item, end-of-life patient-reported outcome measure (EOLPRO) designed to capture changes in the ability of patients to finalise their affairs at the end of life.

Methods

Cognitive interviews with purposively sampled Australian palliative care patients (N = 9) were analysed thematically to explore content validity. Simultaneously, secondary analysis of data from a randomised controlled trial comparing ketamine and placebo for the management of cancer pain (N = 185) evaluated: construct validity; test-retest reliability; and responsiveness.

Results

Preliminary findings suggest patients interpret the new measure consistently. The EOLPRO captures the ability to complete physical tasks and finalise practical matters although it is unclear whether emotional tasks or resolution of relationship issues are considered. Personal and financial affairs should be separated to allow for differences in ability for these two types of affairs. The significant correlation between performance status and EOLPRO scores (r = 0.41, p<0.01, n = 137) and expected relationships between EOLPRO and proximity to death and constipation demonstrated construct validity. Pre- and post-treatment EOLPRO scores moderately agreed (n = 14, κ = 0.52 [95% CI 0.19, 0.84]) supporting reliability. The measure’s apparent lack of sensitivity to discriminate between treatment responders and non-responders may be confounded.

Conclusion

Based on the preliminary findings, the EOLPRO should be separated into ‘personal’ and ‘financial’ affairs with further testing suggested, particularly to verify coverage and responsiveness. Initial evaluation suggests that the single-item EOLPRO is a useful addition to QOL outcome measurement in palliative care effectiveness research because common palliative care specific QOL questionnaires do not include or explicitly capture this domain.