Klein Marie-Noëlle, Jufer-Riedi Ursina, Rieder Sarah, Hochstrasser Céline, Steiner Michelle, Cao Li Mei, Feinstein Anthony, Bigi Sandra, Lidzba Karen
Division of Child Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University Children's Hospital Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Front Psychol. 2021 Apr 23;12:631535. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.631535. eCollection 2021.
Information processing speed (IPS) is a marker for cognitive function. It is associated with neural maturation and increases during development. Traditionally, IPS is measured using paper and pencil tasks requiring fine motor skills. Such skills are often impaired in patients with neurological conditions. Therefore, an alternative that does not need motor dexterity is desirable. One option is the computerized symbol digit modalities test (c-SDMT), which requires the patient to verbally associate numbers with symbols.
Eighty-six participants (8-16 years old; 45 male; 48 inpatients) were examined, 38 healthy and 48 hospitalized for a non-neurological disease. All participants performed the written SDMT, c-SDMT, and the Test of Non-verbal Intelligence Fourth Edition (TONI-4). Statistical analyses included a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) for the effects of intelligence (IQ) and hospitalization on the performance of the SDMT and c-SDMT. A repeated measures analysis of variance (repeated measures ANOVA) was used to compare performance across c-SDMT trials between inpatients and outpatients.
The MANCOVA showed that hospitalization had a significant effect on IPS when measured with the SDMT ( = 0.04) but not with the c-SDMT ( = 0.68), while IQ ( = 0.92) had no effect on IPS. Age ( < 0.001) was the best predictor of performance of both tests. The repeated measures ANOVA revealed no significant difference in within-test performance ( = 0.06) between outpatient and inpatient participants in the c-SDMT.
Performance of the c-SDMT is not confounded by hospitalization and gives within-test information. As a valid and reliable measure of IPS for children and adolescents, it is suitable for use in both inpatient and outpatient populations.
信息处理速度（IPS）是认知功能的一个指标。它与神经成熟相关，并在发育过程中增加。传统上，IPS是通过需要精细运动技能的纸笔任务来测量的。这些技能在神经系统疾病患者中常常受损。因此，需要一种不需要运动灵活性的替代方法。一种选择是计算机化符号数字模式测试（c-SDMT），该测试要求患者将数字与符号进行口头关联。
对86名参与者（8至16岁；45名男性；48名住院患者）进行了检查，其中38名健康，48名因非神经系统疾病住院。所有参与者都进行了书面SDMT、c-SDMT和非言语智力第四版测试（TONI-4）。统计分析包括对智力（IQ）和住院对SDMT和c-SDMT表现的影响进行多变量协方差分析（MANCOVA）。使用重复测量方差分析（重复测量ANOVA）来比较住院患者和门诊患者在c-SDMT试验中的表现。
MANCOVA显示，当用SDMT测量时，住院对IPS有显著影响（=0.04），但用c-SDMT测量时没有（=0.68），而IQ（=0.92）对IPS没有影响。年龄（<0.001）是两项测试表现的最佳预测指标。重复测量ANOVA显示，门诊患者和住院患者在c-SDMT的测试内表现上没有显著差异（=0.06）。
c-SDMT的表现不受住院的影响，并能提供测试内信息。作为一种用于儿童和青少年IPS的有效且可靠的测量方法，它适用于住院患者和门诊患者群体。
