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Validation of Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS)-Related Pediatric Treatment Evaluation Checklist
Andrey Vyshedskiy1, Anna Conkey2, Kelly DeWeese2
1Metropolitan College, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Insights
A new scale, the PANS/PANDAS and Related Inflammatory Brain Disorders Treatment Evaluation Checklist (PTEC), effectively tracks Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) symptoms in children. This validated tool aids parents and clinicians in monitoring treatment progress.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Immunology
Background:
- Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) is a condition with sudden, severe neuropsychiatric symptoms.
- PANS diagnosis requires obsessive-compulsive disorder or restricted food intake plus two other symptoms.
- Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) is a PANS subtype linked to strep.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate a new parent-reported scale for tracking Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS).
- To provide a tool for monitoring symptom changes in PANS/PANDAS patients.
Main Methods:
- Development of a 101-item PANS/PANDAS and Related Inflammatory Brain Disorders Treatment Evaluation Checklist (PTEC).
- PTEC assesses 10 symptom subscales: Behavior/Mood, OCD, Anxiety, Food intake, Tics, Cognitive/Developmental, Sensory, Other, Sleep, and Health.
- Psychometric quality tested with 225 participants.
Main Results:
- PTEC demonstrated excellent internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.96).
- Adequate test-retest reliability (r = 0.6) was observed.
- Excellent construct validity was supported by a strong correlation with the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (r = 0.8).
Conclusions:
- The PTEC is a validated tool for monitoring PANS symptoms.
- PTEC aims to assist parents and clinicians in PANS treatment.
- The PTEC questionnaire is freely available online.
Background/Objectives:
The objective of this study was to validate a new parent-reported scale for tracking Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS). PANS is a condition characterized by a sudden and severe onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms. To meet diagnostic criteria, an individual must present with either obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or severely restricted food intake, accompanied by at least two additional cognitive, behavioral, or emotional symptoms. These may include anxiety, emotional instability, depression, irritability, aggression, oppositional behaviors, developmental or behavioral regression, a decline in academic skills such as handwriting or math, sensory abnormalities, frequent urination, and enuresis. The onset of symptoms is usually triggered by an infection or an abnormal immune/inflammatory response. Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) is a subtype of PANS specifically linked to strep infections.
Methods:
We developed a 101-item PANS/PANDAS and Related Inflammatory Brain Disorders Treatment Evaluation Checklist (PTEC) designed to assess changes to a patient's symptoms over time along 10 subscales: Behavior/Mood, OCD, Anxiety, Food intake, Tics, Cognitive/Developmental, Sensory, Other, Sleep, and Health. The psychometric quality of PTEC was tested with 225 participants.
Results:
The internal reliability of the PTEC was excellent (Cronbach's alpha = 0.96). PTEC exhibited adequate test-retest reliability (r = 0.6) and excellent construct validity, supported by a strong correlation with the Health subscale of the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (r = 0.8).
Conclusions:
We hope that PTEC will assist parents and clinicians in the monitoring and treatment of PANS. The PTEC questionnaire is freely available at neuroimmune.org/PTEC.
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