Assessing tremor severity.
A clinical rating scale which measured the severity of tremor in 20 patients (12 with essential tremor and 8 with "dystonic" tremor) was assessed at specific anatomical sites for both inter and intra-rater reliability using four raters. The scores obtained with the scale were compared with the results of upper limb accelerometry, an activity of daily living self-questionnaire and estimates of the tremor induced impairment in writing and drawing specimens. The results show that, for the purposes of routine assessment and therapeutic trials, a clinical rating scale can produce reliable results which are a more valid index of tremor induced disability than standard postural accelerometry.
Bain
P G
PG
MRC Human Movement and Balance Unit, Institute of Neurology, London, UK.
Findley
L J
LJ
Atchison
P
P
Behari
M
M
Vidailhet
M
M
Gresty
M
M
Rothwell
J C
JC
Thompson
P D
PD
Marsden
C D
CD
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014202:Tremor / Q000503:physiopathology*