ECAS A-B-C: alternate forms of the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen

Crockford, Christopher J., Kleynhans, Michaela, Wilton, Evelyn, Radakovic, Ratko, Newton, Judith, Niven, Elaine H., Al-Chalabi, Ammar, Hardiman, Orla, Bak, Thomas H. and Abrahams, Sharon (2018) ECAS A-B-C: alternate forms of the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration, 19 (1-2). pp. 57-64. ISSN 2167-8421

Preview

PDF (Published manuscript) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (751kB) | Preview

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS) is a short assessment by which neuropsychological symptoms can be detected and quantified in people with ALS. To avoid potential practice effects with repeated administration, here we present alternative versions of the ECAS suitable for measuring change over time.  OBJECTIVE: To develop two alternate versions of the ECAS: ECAS-B and ECAS-C.  METHOD: One hundred and forty-nine healthy adult participants were recruited. Thirty participants completed a pilot study in developing the alternate versions. Two groups of 40 participants were administered the ECAS-B or ECAS-C and compared to published data of the original ECAS (ECAS-A) to determine equivalence. An additional 39 participants were administered the ECAS consecutively, either repeating the original version (ECAS-A-A-A) serially or the different versions (ECAS-A-B-C) to determine potential practice effects. Recordings of assessments were scored by a second researcher to determine inter-rater reliability.  RESULTS: No significant differences were found between versions (A, B, C) of the composite performance measures of ALS Specific, ALS Non-Specific, and ECAS Total scores. Repeated serial administration of ECAS-A (A-A-A) produced some practice effects for composite scores, whereas no such effects were found when alternate versions were administered serially (A-B-C). Exceptionally high intra-class correlations were found for all three versions of the ECAS suggesting a high degree of rater agreement.  CONCLUSION: The newly developed alternate forms of the ECAS are both highly equitable to the original ECAS-A and enable avoidance of practice effects, thus supporting their use in measuring cognition and behaviour over time.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	cognition,behaviour,screen,ecas,alternate forms,reliability
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	05 Jan 2018 14:40
Last Modified:	25 Sep 2024 13:11
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/65857
DOI:	10.1080/21678421.2017.1407793

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item