title: The Face-Symbol Test and the Symbol-Digit Test are not reliable surrogates for the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test in multiple sclerosis.
abstract: The Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) is the chosen task for cognitive assessment in the multiple sclerosis functional composite (MSFC) and a widely used task in neuropsychological studies of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), but is unpopular with patients. The Face-Symbol Test (FST) and Symbol-Digit Tests (SDT) are alternative methods of cognitive testing in MS, which are easily administered and patient-friendly. In order to evaluate the potential of the FST as a possible surrogate for the PASAT, we directly compared the FST to the PASAT and the SDT in a cohort of 50 MS patients with varying levels of disability. There was significant correlation between SDT and FST scores (Spearman's rho 0.80, 95% CI 0.66-0.88), R(2) 65%, with moderate inter-test agreement (k =0.52). In contrast, SDT and FST scores were less predictive of PASAT scores. We concluded that neither the FST nor SDT are reliable surrogates for the PASAT.
authors.affiliation: St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Republic of Ireland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: O'Rourke
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tubridy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric