Rating scale for psychogenic nonepileptic seizures: Scale development and clinimetric testing

Our aim was to develop a clinimetric scale evaluating motor phenomena, associated features, and severity of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES). Sixty video/EEG-recorded PNES induced by suggestion maneuvers were evaluated. We examined the relationship between results from this scale and results from the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale to validate this technique. Interrater reliabilities of the PNES scale for three raters were analyzed using the AC1 statistic, Kendall's coefficient of concordance (KCC), and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). The relationship between the CGI and PNES scales was evaluated with Spearman correlations. The AC1 statistic demonstrated good interrater reliability for each phenomenon analyzed (tremor/oscillation, tonic; clonic/jerking, hypermotor/agitation, atonic/akinetic, automatisms, associated features). KCC and the ICC showed moderate interrater agreement for phenomenology, associated phenomena, and total PNES scores. Spearman's correlation of mean CGI score with mean total PNES score was 0.69 (P < 0.001). The scale described here accurately evaluates the phenomenology of PNES and could be used to assess and compare subgroups of patients with PNES.

Research highlights
► Aim: To develope a clinimetric scale evaluating PNES phenomenology.
► The scale accurately evaluates the phenomenology of PNES.
► The scale can be used to compare subgroups of patients with PNES.