Remote administration of BICAMS measures and the Trail-Making Test to assess cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis

Fionnuala Rogers, Eimear Bane, Christopher P. Dwyer, Alberto Alvarez-Iglesias, Robert A. Joyce, Sinéad M. Hynes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Reliable remote cognitive testing could provide a safer assessment of cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS) during the COVID-19 pandemic and thereafter. Here we aimed to investigate the reliability and feasibility of administering Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS (BICAMS) and the Trail-Making Test (TMT) to people with MS online. Between-group differences on BICAMS and the TMT were examined in a sample of 68 participants. Group 1 (N = 34) was tested in-person pre-pandemic. Group 2 was tested remotely. Within-group differences for in-person and virtual administrations were examined for Group 1. No significant differences between virtual and in-person administrations of the CVLT-II and SDMT were detected. BVMT-R scores were significantly higher for virtual administrations (M = 20.59, SD= 6.65) compared to in-person administrations (M = 16.35, SD= 6.05), possibly indicating inter-rater differences. Strong positive correlations were found for in-person and virtual scores within Group 1 on the CVLT-II (r =.84), SDMT (r =.85), TMT-A (r =.88), TMT-B (r =.76) and BVMT-R (r =.72). No significant differences between in-person and remote administrations of CVLT-II and SDMT in people living with MS were detected. Recommendations for future studies employing the TMT and BVMT-R online are provided.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)903-926
Number of pages24
JournalNeuropsychological Rehabilitation
Volume33
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Keywords

  • Cognitive assessment
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Remote testing
  • SWAT
  • Study-within-a-trial

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