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Updated: Oct 5, 2025
The Multiple Sclerosis Performance Test MSPT: An iPad-Based Disability Assessment Tool
Published on: June 30, 2014
In multiple sclerosis, a Functional Independence Measure ≥ 107 is the best predictor of outcome after clean
Rebecca Haddad1, Philippe Lagnau2, Camille Chesnel2
1Sorbonne Universté, GRC 001, GREEN Groupe de Recherche Clinique en Neuro-Urologie, AP-HP, Hôpital Tenon, F-75020 Paris, France; Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Human Structure and Repair, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Background:
Assessment of motor and cognitive functions is recommended before clean intermittent catheterization training. Two validated instruments, the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and the Pencil and Paper Test (PP-Test), are associated with the ability to learn self-catheterization in people with multiple sclerosis.
Objectives:
We aimed to compare the performance of these tools in predicting the outcome of clean intermittent catheterization training in multiple sclerosis.
Methods:
All people with multiple sclerosis attending a tertiary neuro-urology department between 2011 and 2019 and eligible for clean intermittent catheterization were included in this retrospective study. The reference standard was the ability to perform at least 2 trials of self-catheterization at the end of the training session. The 2 index tests, the FIM and PP-Test, were administered before the teaching session. Their diagnostic performance was estimated by calculating sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The AUC values were compared by a two-sided DeLong test.
Results:
We included 395 individuals (mean [SD] age 49.8 [12] years; 70% women). At the end of the session, 87% of the patients succeeded in learning self-catheterization. The optimal cut-offs for the FIM (107) and PP-Test (13) were estimated, resulting in sensitivity of 73% (95% confidence interval [68-77) and 73% (67-77) and specificity 73% (59-84) and 63% (49-76), respectively. The AUC values for the FIM and PP-Test were significantly different (0.79 vs 0.73, p = 0.049). The effect size was large for both the FIM (Cohen's d = 1.14) and PP-Test (Cohen's d = 0.87).
Conclusions:
An FIM value ≥107 has the best specificity to predict outcome after clean intermittent catheterization training for people with multiple sclerosis. The sensitivity of the FIM and PP-Test is similar, and both have a large effect size for the outcome of self-catheterization training in multiple sclerosis.
