title: Comment on administration and scoring of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory in clinical trials.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) is commonly used in dementia trials to quantify and qualitate changes in psychiatric symptoms.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire was administered to clinical trial raters to assess whether they were being trained to administer and score the NPI differently between clinical trial protocols.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Responses to the survey indicated that there are differences between clinical trials protocols in how the instrument is administered and scored.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Clarification of administration and scoring rules are provided, including the behavioral sampling period, whether premorbid characteristics are considered, and what behaviors are considered in rating frequency, severity, and caregiver distress.
authors.affiliation: Cleo Roberts Center for Clinical Research, Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ, USA. donald.connor@bannerhealth.org
authors.forename: Donald J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Connor
authors.forename: Marwan N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Sabbagh
authors.forename: Jeffery L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Cummings
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003704:Dementia / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires