Interrater Reliability of Clinical Ratings and Neurocognitive Diagnoses in HIV

• Published in: Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology 2004-09, Vol.26 (6), p.759-778
• Main Authors: Woods, Steven Paul, Rippeth, Julie D., Frol, Alan B., Levy, Joel K., Ryan, Elizabeth, Soukup, Vicki M., Hinkin, Charles H., Lazzaretto, Deborah, Cherner, Mariana, Marcotte, Thomas D., Gelman, Benjamin B., Morgello, Susan, Singer, Elyse J., Grant, Igor, Heaton, Robert K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - physiopathology; Cognition Disorders - etiology; Confounding Factors (Epidemiology); Decision Making - physiology; Demography; Female; HIV Infections - complications; HIV Infections - epidemiology; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Neuropsychological Tests - statistics & numerical data; Observer Variation; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reproducibility of Results; Risk Factors; Severity of Illness Index; Techniques and methods
• ISSN: 1380-3395; 1744-411X
• DOI: 10.1080/13803390490509565

We examined the interrater reliability (IRR) of clinical ratings of neuropsychological (NP) impairment and neurocognitive diagnoses in HIV. Thirty participants with advanced HIV-infection who were enrolled in a multicenter HIV brain banking research project underwent comprehensive NP and neuromedical evaluations. Using a standardized system of guidelines, neuropsychologists from six participating sites independently assigned clinical ratings of NP impairment, as well as multilevel diagnoses reflecting the inferred etiology of the impairments and their effects on everyday functioning. Findings indicated excellent IRR in rating the presence and severity of NP impairment, but overall modest IRR for neurocognitive diagnoses. Not surprisingly, most diagnostic disagreements concerned the etiology of impairments in persons with medical and neuropsychiatric risk factors in addition to HIV.