The Spastic Paraplegia Rating Scale (SPRS): a reliable and valid measure of disease severity.
OBJECTIVE
To develop and evaluate a clinical Spastic Paraplegia Rating Scale (SPRS) to measure disease severity and progression.


METHODS
A 13-item scale was designed to rate functional impairment occurring in pure forms of spastic paraplegia (SP). Additional symptoms constituting a complicated form of SP are recorded in an inventory. Two independent patient cohorts were evaluated in a two-step validation procedure.


RESULTS
Application of SPRS requires less than 15 minutes and does not require any special equipment, so it is suitable for an outpatient setting. Interrater agreement of SPRS was high (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.99). Reliability was further supported by high internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.91). SPRS values were almost normally distributed without apparent floor or ceiling effect. Construct validity was shown by high correlation of SPRS to Barthel Index and the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (convergent validity) and low correlation to Mini-Mental Status Examination (discriminant validity).


CONCLUSIONS
The Spastic Paraplegia Rating Scale is a reliable and valid measure of disease severity.
Schüle
R
R
Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research and Department of Neurology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Germany.
Holland-Letz
T
T
Klimpe
S
S
Kassubek
J
J
Klopstock
T
T
Mall
V
V
Otto
S
S
Winner
B
B
Schöls
L
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index