Biomedical subjects

J A Barwick

Publications and source records attributed to J A Barwick.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1990

Addition of an error correction facility to a functioning data management system.

The National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke conducted the Stroke Data Bank, a prospectively collected database, in collaboration with investigators from four clinical centers. A distributed data entry system was originally designed to permit data entry and editing using microcomputers. As data collection progressed, it became evident that the editing system was inadequate. A central data editing component was added to the system, with responsibility for error correction remaining at the clinical centers. This report summarizes the design of the error correction facility and demonstrates the feasibility of its late implementation.

Computer Communication Networks↗

PubMed1987

Interobserver reliability in the interpretation of computed tomographic scans of stroke patients.

Interobserver reliability in interpretation of computed tomographic images was studied by six senior neurologists who independently evaluated on a standardized Stroke Data Bank form the brain lesions of 17 patients. The results analyzed with kappa statistics yielded moderate to substantial agreement on most items of interest including the stroke pathology and anatomy. In general, the levels of agreement were as high as previously reported for the diagnosis of the mechanism of the stroke, and much higher than on many stroke history items and items of neurologic examination. Excellent agreement was obtained for the detection of infarcts and intracerebral hemorrhage, and substantial agreement was obtained on whether the computed tomographic images were normal or indicative of small deep infarcts, superficial and deep infarcts, and aneurysms. The level of agreement on anatomy of the lesions was best for the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes, putamen, cerebellum, and subarachnoid space. Implications for clinical research and diagnosis are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

Reliability of the activities of daily living scale and its use in telephone interview.

Activities of daily living (ADL), a popular outcome assessment tool for studies of disabled populations, was evaluated for use in multicentered studies. The interobserver reliability of a modified Barthel Index of the ADL was evaluated on 18 stroke patients. Reliabilities between administrators of the ADL and between observers of the ADL administrations were r = .99 for total scores and r greater than .90 for most of the individual component items. The validity of ADL evaluation based on telephone interviews was demonstrated relative to ADL scores obtained on 72 patients in a direct test of their performance capabilities. The correlations between the performance-based ADL and the interview-based ADL were r greater than .97 for the total score and r greater than .85 for most of the individual items. The modified Barthel Index of the ADL is a reliable measure for assessing stable stroke patients, supporting its use in multicenter studies. In addition, the high validity observed in the telephone interview supports its use in longitudinal studies and large surveys where direct performance evaluation is not feasible or too costly.

Activities of Daily Living↗