Although a variety of pain and physical functioning outcome measures have been reported in the literature , few have demonstrate method ologically strong psychometric properties .
INTRODUCTION A range of outcome measures across various domains are used to evaluate change following an intervention in clinical trials on chronic neuropathic pain ( NeP ) .
However , to capture a real change in the variable of interest , the psychometric properties of a particular measure should demonstrate appropriate method ological quality .
Various outcome measures in the domains of pain and physical functioning have been used in the literature for NeP , for which individual properties ( eg , reliability/validity ) have been reported .
Reliability and validity of the CMT neuropathy score as a measure of disability
Objective : To determine the validity and reliability of the Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease ( CMT ) neuropathy score ( CMTNS ) in patients with inherited neuropathy . Background : Natural history studies and potential treatment trials for patients with various forms of CMT are limited by the lack of quantitative method ologies to monitor disease progression . Most cases of CMT can be considered length-dependent axonal neuropathies because disability for even the demyelinating forms correlates with length-dependent axonal degeneration . The  total neuropathy score ( TNS ) is a vali date d composite measure of disability in length-dependent axonal neuropathies but is weighted toward predominantly sensory neuropathies . Thus , the authors have devised a CMTNS , modified from the TNS , to provide a single measure to quantify CMT disability . Methods : The authors measured inter- and intrainvestigator reliability of the CMTNS and performed a validation of the score with the Neuropathy Impairment Score ( NIS ) , patient self- assessment scores , an ambulation index , and other measures of disability . Results : Inter- and intrainvestigator reliability was more than 95 % in the 60 patients evaluated . Patients could be divided into mild ( CMTNS , ≤10 ) , moderate ( CMTNS , 11 to 20 ) , and severe ( CMTNS , ≥21 ) categories and demonstrated excellent correlations among all measures of disability . Conclusion : The Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease ( CMT ) neuropathy score is a vali date d measure of length-dependent axonal and demyelinating CMT disability and can be investigated as an end point for longitudinal studies and clinical trials of CMT
Although a variety of pain and physical functioning outcome measures have been reported in the literature , few have demonstrate method ologically strong psychometric properties .
INTRODUCTION A range of outcome measures across various domains are used to evaluate change following an intervention in clinical trials on chronic neuropathic pain ( NeP ) .
However , to capture a real change in the variable of interest , the psychometric properties of a particular measure should demonstrate appropriate method ological quality .
Various outcome measures in the domains of pain and physical functioning have been used in the literature for NeP , for which individual properties ( eg , reliability/validity ) have been reported .