Tzu-Kuan Sun1, Su-Chen Chiu, Shu-Hui Yeh, Ku-Chou Chang. 1. Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, #123, Ta-Pei Rd, Niao-Sung Hsiang, Kaohsiung County, Taiwan. 2244@adm.cgmh.org.tw
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) is a systematic, 15-point evaluation tool, designed to assess neurological deficit in acute stroke patients and written in English. It is used to support important medical and nursing decisions. OBJECTIVES: To translate the NIHSS into Chinese and establish its psychometric properties using Chinese evaluators. DESIGN: Methodological research design. SETTING: One medical centre. PARTICIPANTS: Using convenience sampling, 48 subjects admitted with acute ischemic stroke were selected. METHODS: In this study, six clinicians from the Department of Neurology (3 nurses, 3 doctors) assessed the 48 patients using the C-NIHSS, the Glasgow Coma Scale and the Barthel index. RESULTS: The C-NIHSS content validity index reached 1.00, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient for internal consistency was 0.92. Of the 15 scale items, two (facial palsy and limb ataxia) had low inter-rater values (k values below 0.39). Kappa (kappa) values were substantial (over 0.60) for all other items. The C-NIHSS has a significantly negative correlation with both Glasgow Coma Scale (r = -0.824, p < 0.01), and Barthel index (r = -0.683, p < 0.01) scores. CONCLUSIONS: The C-NIHSS is a reliable and valid scale for the clinical assessment of neurological deficit in acute stroke patients.
BACKGROUND: The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) is a systematic, 15-point evaluation tool, designed to assess neurological deficit in acute strokepatients and written in English. It is used to support important medical and nursing decisions. OBJECTIVES: To translate the NIHSS into Chinese and establish its psychometric properties using Chinese evaluators. DESIGN: Methodological research design. SETTING: One medical centre. PARTICIPANTS: Using convenience sampling, 48 subjects admitted with acute ischemic stroke were selected. METHODS: In this study, six clinicians from the Department of Neurology (3 nurses, 3 doctors) assessed the 48 patients using the C-NIHSS, the Glasgow Coma Scale and the Barthel index. RESULTS: The C-NIHSS content validity index reached 1.00, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient for internal consistency was 0.92. Of the 15 scale items, two (facial palsy and limb ataxia) had low inter-rater values (k values below 0.39). Kappa (kappa) values were substantial (over 0.60) for all other items. The C-NIHSS has a significantly negative correlation with both Glasgow Coma Scale (r = -0.824, p < 0.01), and Barthel index (r = -0.683, p < 0.01) scores. CONCLUSIONS: The C-NIHSS is a reliable and valid scale for the clinical assessment of neurological deficit in acute strokepatients.
Authors: Stephen R McCauley; Elisabeth A Wilde; Tara M Kelly; Annie M Weyand; Ragini Yallampalli; Eric J Waldron; Claudia Pedroza; Kathleen P Schnelle; Corwin Boake; Harvey S Levin; Paolo Moretti Journal: J Neurotrauma Date: 2010-06 Impact factor: 5.269