The Diagnostic Availability of Continuous Performance Test in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Koo, Bon Hoon; Park, Hyung Bae; Lee, Hee Jeung; Song, Chang Jin; Kim, Jin Sung; Lee, Kwang Heun

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to examine the diagnostic availability of CPT in children with ADHD, and, what factors are affected to CPT results in the diagnosis of ADHD.
METHODS
CPT, ADHD scales (ADDES-HV), K-ABC were administered to 68 ADHD patients and 30 normal elementary school students as the control group. Also, ages and sex are controlled between two groups.
RESULTS
In the differences of the results of CPT between ADHD patients and normal subjects, attentiveness and risk taking are significantly different (p<0.05). In the differences of the results of CPT between ages in ADHD patients, usually as more aged children are better performances in CPT. Also, in the differences of the results of CPT between intelligence in ADHD patients, usually as higher intelligent children are better performances in CPT. There are no differences of the results of CPT between types of ADHD in ADHD patients. In the differences of the results of CPT between sex in ADHD patients, commission error, hit reaction time standard error, variability of standard error, and attentiveness are significantly different between male and female patients (p<0.05). The correlations between ADHD scales and the results of CPT show that inattention subscale is significantly related to hit, omission error, hit reaction time standard error, and variability of standard error. In the discriminant ability between ADHD patients and normal children by the results of CPT, accuracy rates are more than 50% in all results of CPT. Especially, the accuracy rate of hit reaction time standard error, and the accuracy rate of variability of standard error, and also, the accuracy rate of attentiveness are more than 60%.
CONCLUSION
In this point of view, this study suggest that CPT is relatively valuable method in the diagnosis of ADHD. For instances, CPT is more likely to screen the ADHD from normal children, or to use as assisted method of diagnosis of ADHD in clinical settings.