Dichotomous scoring of Trails B in patients referred for a dementia evaluation.
The Trail Making Test is a popular neuropsychological test and its interpretation has traditionally used time-based scores. This study examined an alternative approach to scoring that is simply based on the examinees' ability to complete the test. If an examinee is able to complete Trails B successfully, they are coded as "completers"; if not, they are coded as "noncompleters." To assess this approach to scoring Trails B, the performance of 97 diagnostically heterogeneous individuals referred for a dementia evaluation was examined. In this sample, 55 individuals successfully completed Trails B and 42 individuals were unable to complete it. Point-biserial correlations indicated a moderate-to-strong association (r(pb)=.73) between the Trails B completion variable and the Total Scale score of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neurological Status (RBANS), which was larger than the correlation between the Trails B time-based score and the RBANS Total Scale score (r(pb)=.60). As a screen for dementia status, Trails B completion showed a sensitivity of 69% and a specificity of 100% in this sample. These results suggest that dichotomous scoring of Trails B might provide a brief and clinically useful measure of dementia status.
Schmitt
Andrew L
AL
Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Blvd., Tyler, Texas 75799, USA. andrew_schmitt@uttyler.edu
Livingston
Ronald B
RB
Smernoff
Eric N
EN
Waits
Bethany L
BL
Harris
James B
JB
Davis
Kent M
KM
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011930:Reaction Time; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014145:Trail Making Test / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014888:Wechsler Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data