Mulcahey Research

Mulcahey MJ, Calhoun CL, Sinko R, Kelly EH, Vogel LC. The spinal cord independence measure (SCIM-III) self report for youth. Spinal Cord 2016, 54;204-2012.

Mixed methods were used to develop and validate a pediatric version of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure self report for children. The study informed the development of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure Self-Report Youth Version. 

Mulcahey MJ, Slavin MD, Ni P, Vogel LC, Thielen CC, Coster WJ, Jette AM. The Pediatric Measure of Participation (PMoP) Short Forms. Spinal Cord 2016 54, 1183-1187.

This study used mixed methods to develop and validate short forms (SF) for the Pediatric Measure of Participation (PMoP) computerized adaptive test (CAT). Group reliability and Cronbach’s alpha values were established and acceptable. Agreement between the SF and CAT were moderate-to-high as evidence by Intraclass correlation coefficients between 0.89-0.95. Test information for the SF was sufficiently high over the range of scores for the sample. The results support the use of the PMoP SFs when CATs are not feasible.  

Mulcahey MJ, Haley SM, Slavin M, Pengsheng N, Jette AM. Cerebral palsy computer adaptive tests detect improvements following orthopedic surgery in youth with cerebral palsy. J Bone Joint Surg Am 2015; Sept 16;97(18):1482-94. doi: 10.2016/JBJS.O.00179. PMID:26378264 

The Cerebral Palsy Profile (CP-PRO) Lower Extremity/Mobility computerized adaptive test ( LE CAT) is a parent-reported outcome measure that assesses mobility in youth with cerebral palsy (CP). This study demonstrated that when compared to legacy measures, the LE CAT had the greatest sensitivity to detect change following elective orthopedic surgery in children with CP. The superior sensitivity, low administration burden, and precision of the LE CAT makes it a strong clinical tool for demonstrating the effects of musculoskeletal surgery in youth with CP. 

Mulcahey MJ, Samdani AF, Gaughan JP, Barakat N, Faro S, Shah P, Betz RR, Mohamed F. Diagnostic Accuracy of Diffusion Tensor Imaging for Pediatric Cervical Cord. Spinal Cord 2013;51(7):532-537.  doi:10.1038/sc.2013.36

The study demonstrated a correlation between clinical examinations of muscle strength, sensation, injury level and completeness and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in children with spinal cord injury (SCI). Results showed that DTI values were strongly associated with clinical values, and for children without radiographic evidence of SCI, DTI values provided an indication of SCI. The study demonstrated the feasibility and reliability of scanning the pediatric spinal cord. 

Mulcahey MJ, Calhoun C, Tian F, Ni P, Vogel L, Haley S. Evaluation of newly developed item banks for child reported outcomes of participation following spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord. 2012 Dec;50(12):915-9. doi: 10.1038/sc.2012.80. Epub 2012 Aug 21. doi: 10.1038/sc.2012.80

A total of 387 children with spinal cord injury and their caregivers participated in a multi-center study to calibrate large item banks of activity performance and participation. Confirmatory and exploratory analysis showed that the item banks met the assumptions required for developing computer adaptive tests (CATs). Simulated 5, 10, and 15 item CATs has strong correlation with the full item bank and were able to discriminate among known groups. 

Mulcahey MJ, Vogel L, Betz R, Samdani A, Chafetz R, Gaughan J. The international standards for neurological classification of spinal cord injury: psychometric evaluation and guidelines for use with children and youth. Phys Med Rehabil, 2011; 92:1264-9. Doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2011.03.003

In this multi-center reliability study, Mulcahey et al. assess inter-rater reliability of the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) in children with chronic SCI. Children with SCI (N=236) underwent four examinations by two raters: the sensory tests, motor test, and test of anal sensations and anal contraction tests. Results indicate that the reliability and utility of the ISNCSCI for children below six years of age is poor due to poor completion rates of the exam. For children six years old and older, the ISNSCI has strong inter-rater reliability for the sensory and motor tests.