title: Task force report: scales for screening and evaluating tremor: critique and recommendations.
abstract: The Movement Disorder Society established a task force to review rating scales for the assessment of tremor. Screening instruments used in identifying patients with tremor were also reviewed. Seven tremor severity scales, six activities of daily living (ADL)/disability scales, four quality-of-life scales, and five screening instruments were identified by searching PubMed.gov. The availability, use, acceptability, reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change were reviewed for each scale; and each scale was classified as recommended, suggested or listed based on whether 3, 2, or 1 of the following criteria were met: (1) used in the assessment of tremor (yes/no), (2) used in published studies by people other than the developers (yes/no), and (3) successful clinimetric testing (yes/no). Five tremor severity scales (the Fahn-Tolosa-Marin Tremor Rating Scale, the Bain and Findley Clinical Tremor Rating Scale, the Bain and Findley Spirography Scale, the Washington Heights-Inwood Genetic Study of Essential Tremor Rating Scale, and the Tremor Research Group Essential Tremor Rating Assessment Scale), one ADL/disability scale (the Bain and Findley Tremor ADL Scale), one quality-of-life scale (the Quality of Life in Essential Tremor Questionnaire), and one screening instrument (the Washington Heights-Inwood Genetic Study of Essential Tremor Rating Scale, version 1) are recommended using these criteria. However, all scales need a more comprehensive analysis of sensitivity to change in order to judge their utility in clinical trials and individual patient assessments. The task force recommends that further work with existing recommended scales be performed as opposed to the development of new tremor scales.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Rodger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Elble
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bain
authors.forename: Maria João
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Forjaz
authors.forename: Dietrich
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Haubenberger
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Testa
authors.forename: Christopher G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Goetz
authors.forename: Albert F G
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Leentjens
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martinez-Martin
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pavy-Le Traon
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Post
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sampaio
authors.forename: Glenn T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Stebbins
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weintraub
authors.forename: Anette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schrag
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D026683:Advisory Committees / Q000592:standards; D005820:Genetic Testing; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014202:Tremor / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology
keywords: rating scales; reliability; sensitivity; tremor; validity