Assessing tremor severnty

Abstract

A clinical rating scale which measured the severity of tremor in 20 patients (12 with essential tremor and 8 with "dystonic" tremor) was assessed at specific anatomical sites for both inter and intrarater reliability using four raters. The scores obtained with the scale were compared with the results of upper limb accelerometry, an activity of daily living self-questionnaire and estimates of the tremor induced impairment in writing and drawing specimens. The results show that, for the purposes of routine assessment and therapeutic trials, a clinical rating scale can produce reliable results which are a more valid index of tremor induced disability than standard postural accelerometry.