J Korean Neurol Assoc.  2007 May;25(2):149-154.

Korean version of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised: A Pilot Study on the Reliability and Validity

• Kim HY
• Park KH
• Koh SH
• Lee SC
• Nam YH
• Kim J
• Kim SH

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) is a quantitative measure of ALS-related physical deficit with established reliability and validity in prospective clinical research. This study aimed to test the reliability and validity of the Korean version of ALSFRS-R (K-ALSFRS-R).
METHODS
The subjects of the study were 51 patients with ALS diagnosed on the basis of El Escorial criteria. The patients were evaluated by one rater using K-ALSFRS-R, Norris scale, and Appel ALS rating scale on the same day. Subsequently, K-ALSFRS-R was measured by two other raters using a videotape design. Test-retest data were obtained within the time interval of 7 days.
RESULTS
Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were high. Inter-rater comparisons showed significant reliability with Kappa or Kendall's tau-b value. Moreover, K-ALSFRS-R scores correlated significantly with clinical status as measured by Norris and Appel ALS rating scale.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results showed that K-ALSFRS-R would be a reliable and useful instrument for the evaluation of functional status in patients with ALS.

Keyword

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS); ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R); Korean version; Validity; Reliability

MeSH Terms

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis*
Humans
Pilot Projects*
Prospective Studies
Reproducibility of Results*
Videotape Recording