Evaluation of remote assessments for multiple sclerosis in an in-home setting.

BACKGROUND

There is an urgent clinical need for reliable remote monitoring methods in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). We evaluated the use of remotely patient-recorded timed 25-foot walk (rT25FW) and nine-hole peg test (r9HPT).

METHODS

Seventy-one people with MS completed a previously-validated online EDSS (webEDSS) and r9HPT, and 108 completed the webEDSS and rT25FW.

RESULTS

There was a mild-moderate positive correlation between webEDSS and rT25FW, and no significant correlation between webEDSS and r9HPT. Distributions of rT25FW and r9HPT times were positively skewed.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results provide pilot evidence that remote monitoring of MS is potentially valid but requires refinement before wide-scale implementation. With a median EDSS of 4.5 and EDSS range of 0 - 8.0, at least some patients with ambulatory difficulty are able to complete the assessments.