This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 34/2/377    most recent 01.STR.0000055766.99908.58v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Newcommon, N. J. Articles by Bone, I. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Newcommon, N. J. Articles by Bone, I.

(Stroke. 2003;34:377.)
© 2003 American Heart Association, Inc.

Letters to the Editor

Improving the Assessment of Outcomes in Stroke: Use of a Structured Interview to Assign Grades on the Modified Rankin Scale

Nancy J. Newcommon, RN, MN; Teri L. Green, MScHRM; Eryka Haley, RN; Timothy Cooke, BSc Michael D. Hill, MD, FRCPC

Calgary Stroke Program, Calgary Health Region, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

To the Editor:

We read with interest the article by Wilson et al,¹ describing the use of a structured interview for the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). We attempted a similar exercise to validate the assessment of the mRS over the telephone by nonphysician interviewers using an analogously structured interview.

Thirty-four patients with a discharge diagnosis of stroke participated in the study 3 to 6 months from the day of admission. All patients were seen in person first, where they provided informed consent, by two trained personnel (one stroke neurologist or one of three stroke nurses). Each patient was interviewed consecutively by two interviewers in the Stroke Prevention Clinic or, for badly disabled patients, at a current place of residence (long-term care facility, nursing home, or rehabilitation facility) and the mRS assigned. Each face-to-face interview was followed by a telephone interview conducted by trained interviewers following a structured questionnaire within 5 days of the original interview. No proxy interviews were used. Each person rated the patient on the mRS, blind to the other raters’ score. Overall, three observers scored each patient’s outcome.

Two telephone interviewers were not medical professionals (RN or MD) but had 5 or more years of experience with telephone interviewing, had completed a course in telephone interviewing, and were considered experienced. Questions were scripted and deviations from the script were not permitted. The study was approved by the local Ethics Review Board.

Agreement, assessed using unweighted statistics with 95% confidence limits, was excellent between the two observers in the stroke clinic . . . [Full Text of this Article]

J.T.L. Wilson, PhD

Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK

A. Hareendran, PhD

Outcomes Research Pfizer Ltd Sandwich, UK

T. Baird, MD; K.W. Muir, MD I. Bone, MD

Department of Neurology Institute of Neurological Sciences Glasgow, UK

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A Ciccone, L Valvassori, M Ponzio, E Ballabio, R Gasparotti, M Sessa, F Scomazzoni, P Tiraboschi, R Sterzi, and the SYNTHESIS Investigators Intra-arterial or intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke? The SYNTHESIS pilot trial JNIS, October 30, 2009; (2009) jnis.2009.001388v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. C. Hemphill III, M. Farrant, and T. A. Neill Jr Prospective validation of the ICH Score for 12-month functional outcome Neurology, October 6, 2009; 73(14): 1088 - 1094. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. J. Quinn, J. Dawson, M. R. Walters, and K. R. Lees Reliability of the Modified Rankin Scale: A Systematic Review Stroke, October 1, 2009; 40(10): 3393 - 3395. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Pfefferkorn, U. Eppinger, J. Linn, T. Birnbaum, J. Herzog, A. Straube, M. Dichgans, and S. Grau Long-Term Outcome After Suboccipital Decompressive Craniectomy for Malignant Cerebellar Infarction Stroke, September 1, 2009; 40(9): 3045 - 3050. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. H. Schwamm, R. G. Holloway, P. Amarenco, H. J. Audebert, T. Bakas, N. R. Chumbler, R. Handschu, E. C. Jauch, W. A. Knight IV, S. R. Levine, et al. A Review of the Evidence for the Use of Telemedicine Within Stroke Systems of Care: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Stroke, July 1, 2009; 40(7): 2616 - 2634. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. J. Quinn, J. Dawson, M. R. Walters, and K. R. Lees Exploring the Reliability of the Modified Rankin Scale Stroke, March 1, 2009; 40(3): 762 - 766. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. J. Quinn, J. Dawson, M. R. Walters, and K. R. Lees Variability in Modified Rankin Scoring Across a Large Cohort of International Observers Stroke, November 1, 2008; 39(11): 2975 - 2979. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Pfefferkorn, T. E. Mayer, C. Opherk, N. Peters, A. Straube, H.-W. Pfister, M. Holtmannspotter, S. Muller-Schunk, M. Wiesmann, and M. Dichgans Staged Escalation Therapy in Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion: Intravenous Thrombolysis and On-Demand Consecutive Endovascular Mechanical Thrombectomy: Preliminary Experience in 16 Patients Stroke, May 1, 2008; 39(5): 1496 - 1500. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. L. Banks and C. A. Marotta Outcomes Validity and Reliability of the Modified Rankin Scale: Implications for Stroke Clinical Trials: A Literature Review and Synthesis Stroke, March 1, 2007; 38(3): 1091 - 1096. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. G. Merino, S. U. Lattimore, and S. Warach Telephone Assessment of Stroke Outcome Is Reliable Stroke, February 1, 2005; 36(2): 232 - 233. [Full Text] [PDF]