Abstract
Although ncurologic exam nbnonnalitics (NEA) arc gcnernlly :lssumed to represent static lesions, the accuracy of this assumption in schizophrenia is unknown. Several studies have found significant temporal inslttbility of NEA. but have done so acm...s pcriods of major change in lre:llmcnt ami clinical slllie. To identify [he particular NEA t1:~t tend to be stable over time, this study examined test-retest stability of NEA in two groups of chronic schizophrenic and schizoaffective patients. Seven stable medicated patients cnrolled in II longitudinal study of schizophrc. nill were examincd twice across a period of stable medication and clinical Slate (interval 46 :!: 23 days). using a modific:llion of Buchanan & Heinrichs' (19&9) Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES). Thirteen smble medicated patientI'; in a different study were also administered the NES while under similar medication and clinical conditions. before and aCler a period of medication withdrawal (107 :!: 48 d<lYs). Agreement of ordinal data wa.~ assessed with Kappa and of continuous data with intrJcla.~s (olTclation. or the 25 individual NES ilems with adequate cross-sectional intemucr reliability. only three (lam.lcm gait. right-left orientation lind face-hand test) showed high ogrecment in bolh samples, with cleven proving stable in one of the two samples. With repctilive motor lask.s, measures of spct;d {limll to completion) were more stable lhan measures of accuracy (error counls). In spile of effort to control for clinical slale lind mediCl1lion status, these dala show considerable variation across time in most NBA, and demons Irate the imporlance of delermining lhe lest-relellt stability of individual NBA before proceeding with further analysis,
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
