The test of infant motor performance: reliability in spinal muscular atrophy type I.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this article was to determine reliability of the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) in infants with spinal muscular atrophy, type I (SMA-I).


METHODS
Interrater reliability training was undertaken by 17 physical therapist evaluators using 6 infants with hypotonia and weakness (5 videotaped, 1 live). Eight trained evaluators then conducted a test-retest reliability study at their own center, performing 2 tests approximately 1 month apart on each of 11 infants with genetically confirmed SMA-I (5 boys, 6 girls; age range 37-501 days; 3 on pulmonary support).


RESULTS
The interrater reliability training session had an overall weighted Kappa of 0.61 (95% confidence interval 0.59-0.63). For the test-retest reliability study, the intraclass correlation coefficient for the TIMP Total Score was 0.85 (95% confidence interval: 0.54-0.96). The test scores were not significantly different between the 2 sessions (Bradley-Blackwood test was nonsignificant).


CONCLUSIONS
TIMP scores can be reliably obtained in infants with SMA-I.
Finkel
Richard S
RS
Department of Neurology, Division of Neurology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. finkel@email.chop
Hynan
Linda S
LS
Glanzman
Allan M
AM
Owens
Hollis
H
Nelson
Leslie
L
Cone
Stephanie R
SR
Campbell
Suzann K
SK
Iannaccone
Susan T
ST
D002657:Child Development; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D015588:Observer Variation; D026761:Physical Therapy Specialty / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014897:Spinal Muscular Atrophies of Childhood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014741:Video Recording