Movement Disorders - Childhood Rating Scale 4-18 Revised in children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy

BACKGROUND: Movement Disorders - Childhood Rating Scale for age 4-18 (MD-CRS 4-18) is a tool aimed to evaluate movement disorders in developmental age, validated since 2008 and applied in the literature. Psychometric properties, including inter- and intra-reliability and construct validity have been evaluated over time on children and adolescents with different types of movement disorders. AIM: The aim of the study is to revise the Movement Disorders - Childhood Rating Scale 4-18 (MD-CRS 4-18 R) and evaluate its psychometric properties, compared to previous version of the scale, in dyskinetic cerebral palsy. DESIGN: This is a measurement-focused study of video recorder sessions. SETTING: Video session carried out inpatient and outpatient. POPULATION: This measurement-focused study was carried out on a cohort of 57 participants with DCP (37 males; mean age 9 years and 6 months +/- 3 years and 8 months) evaluated through video-recorded sessions by experienced scorers using MD-CRS 4-18 and MR-CRS 4-18 R. METHODS: Inter-rater reliability, intra-rater reliability of MD-CRS 4-18 and MD-CRS 4-18 R were performed. RESULTS: This study supports the relevant contribution of MD-CRS 4-18 R to identify the severity of movement disorders in dyskinetic cerebral palsy, as indicated by the higher ICC values on Index II compared to previous MD-CRS 4-18 results. Standard Error Measurement (SEM) and Minimally Detectable Difference (MDD) of MD-CRS 4-18 R in DCP were all very low, with SEMs ranging from 0.01 to 0.02 and MDD from 0.03 to 0.06. CONCLUSIONS: Data obtained with MD-CRS 4-18 R are in accordance with previous scale on individuals with movement disorders due to different etiologies, tested with MD-CRS 4-18. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: MD-CRS 4-18 R is able to verify natural history of the disease and represents a standardized clinical outcome measure in the evaluation and follow-up of children with DCP. Also MD-CRS 4-18 Revised form is a feasible tool, now easier to understand than the previous one, more available for incoming clinical trials.