The Efficacy of ADHD Rating Scale and Continuous Performance Tests in Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Yoon, Jeong Min; Park, Joon Woo; Lee, Kon Hee; Kim, Sung Koo

Abstract

PURPOSE:Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by symptoms of inattention, impulsivity and/or hyperactivity with an onset during childhood. There are no specific diagnostic and evaluated tools. The aim of this study was to determine clinical availability of adjunctive tests for diagnosis and measure of the efficacy of treatment in ADHD patients.
METHODS
The study group consisted of 41 patients under 15 years of age who visited Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital and Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital between January 2007 and June 2008 for evaluation of ADHD. Diagnosis was made according to the diagnostic and statistical manual for mental disorder-IV(DSM-IV) with history, physical examination, ADHD rating scale, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnostic system(ADS). After psychostimulant treatment, patients were reevaluated by previous diagnostic tools and their results were analysed by SPSS version 16.0.
RESULTS
The mean age was 8.44+/-2.49 years old, male to female ratio 4.13:1(33:8). Forty one ADHD patients were subdivided into predominantly inattentive type 17(41.5%), predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type 3(7.3%) and combined type 21(51.2%). In patients, concordance rates of adjunctive tests with DSM-IV diagnostic criteria were 74.29% in Korean ADHD Rating scale(K-ARS), 59.09% in abbreviated Conners' rating scale(ACRS) and 92.68 % in ADS with DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. There were significant differences in the ADS results between before and after psychostimulant treatment.
CONCLUSION
Because the concordance rates and efficacy of ADS were higher than K- ARS and ACRS in ADHD patients, it suggests that ADS is a useful method to ADHD diagnosis and treatment.