How are you doing today? Have you ever wondered the abreviation ADL meant?
It and UPDRS are used often in research studies.
Parkinson's is progressive and your neurologist by asking questions keeps
track of your ADL numbers. Now you can observe how you are doing and put it
in your diary so that the doctor can use it to assist in your treatment.
A diary, kept by either the patient or the caregiver, can give your doctor
more information about how you are progressing and what needs to be done
to make things go smoother. After all some folks only get a 15 minute
visit with the neurologist once a year. After the hellos, how's the
weather?, there isn't much left of your 15 minutes.
Rating Scales -- Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living
Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living
Gillingham FJ, Donaldson MC, eds., Third Symp. of Parkinson's Disease,
Edinburgh, Scotland, E&S Livingstone, 1969, pp.152-7)
Rating can be assigned by rater or by patient.
100%-Completely independent. Able to do all chores w/o slowness, difficulty,
or impairment.
90%-Completely independent. Able to do all chores with some slowness,
difficulty, or impairment. May take twice as long.
80%-Independent in most chores. Takes twice as long. Conscious of
difficulty and slowing.
70%-Not completely independent. More difficulty with chores. 3 to 4X
as long on chores for some. May take large part of day for chores.
60%-Some dependency. Can do most chores, but very slowly and with
much effort. Errors, some impossible.
50%-More dependant. Help with 1/2 of chores. Difficulty with
everything.
40%-Very dependant. Can assist with all chores but few alone.
30%-With effort, now and then does a few chores alone or begins
alone. Much help needed.
20%-Nothing alone. Can do some slight help with some chores.
Severe invalid.
10%-Totally dependant, helpless.
0%-Vegetative functions such as swallowing, bladder and bowel
function are not functioning. Bedridden.
The UPDRS assigns a score for every visit which can be compared to your last
visit giving a history of how you are progressing.
Rating Scales -- Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)
Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)
The UPDRS is a rating tool to follow the longitudinal course of Parkinson's
Disease. It is made up of the 1)Mentation,Behavior, and Mood, 2)ADL and
3)Motor sections. These are evaluated by interview. Some sections require
multiple grades assigned to each extremity.
Mentation, Behavior, Mood
Intellectual Impairment
0-none
1-mild (consistent forgetfulness with partial
recollection of events with no other difficulties)
2-moderate memory loss with disorientation and moderate
difficulty handling complex problems
3-severe memory loss with disorientation to time and
often place, severe impairment with problems
4-severe memory loss with orientation only to person,
unable to make judgments or solve problems
Thought Disorder
0-none
1-vivid dreaming
2-"benign" hallucination with insight retained
3-occasional to frequent hallucination or delusions
without insight, could interfere with daily
activities
4-persistent hallucination, delusions, or florid
psychosis.
Depression
0-not present
1-periods of sadness or guilt greater than normal, never
sustained for more than a few days or a week
2-sustained depression for 1 week
3-vegetative symptoms (insomnia, anorexia, abulia, weight
loss)
4-vegetative symptoms with suicidality
Motivation/Initiative
0-normal
1-less of assertive, more passive
2-loss of initiative or disinterest in elective
activities
3-loss of initiative or disinterest in day to say
(routine) activities
4-withdrawn, complete loss of motivation
Activities of Daily Living
Speech
0-normal
1-mildly affected, no difficulty being understood
2-moderately affected, may be asked to repeat
3-severely affected, frequently asked to repeat
4-unintelligible most of time
Salivation
0-normal
1-slight but noticeable increase, may have nighttime
drooling
2-moderately excessive saliva, hay minimal drooling
3-marked drooling
Swallowing
0-normal
1-rare choking
2-occasional choking
3-requires soft food
4-requires NG tube or G-tube
Handwriting
0-normal
1-slightly small or slow
2-all words small but legible
3-severely affected, not all words legible
4-majority illegible
Cutting Food/Handing Utensils
0-normal
1-somewhat slow and clumsy but no help needed
2-can cut most foods, some help needed
3-food must be cut, but can feed self
4-needs to be fed
Dressing
0-normal
1-somewhat slow, no help needed
2-occasional help with buttons or arms in sleeves
3-considerable help required but can do something alone
4-helpless
Hygiene
0-normal
1-somewhat slow but no help needed
2-needs help with shower or bath or very slow in hygienic
care
3-requires assistance for washing, brushing teeth, going
to bathroom
4-helpless
Turning in Bed/ Adjusting Bed Clothes
0-normal
1-somewhat slow no help needed
2-can turn alone or adjust sheets but with great
difficulty
3-can initiate but not turn or adjust alone
4-helpless
Falling-Unrelated to Freezing
0-none
1-rare falls
2-occasiona, less than one per day
3-average of once per day
4-1 per day
Freezing When Walking
0-normal
1-rare, may have start hesitation
2-occasional falls from freezing,
3-frequent freezing, occasional falls
4-frequent falls from freezing
Walking
0-normal
1-mild difficulty, day drag legs or decrease arm swing
2-moderate difficultly requires no assist
3-severe disturbance requires assistance
4-cannot walk at all even with assist
Tremor
0-absent
1-slight and infrequent, not bothersome to patient
2-moderate, bothersome to patient
3-severe, interfere with many activities
4-marked, interferes with many activities
Sensory Complaints Related to Parkinsonism
0-none
1-occasionally has numbness, tingling, and mild aching
2-frequent, but not distressing
3-frequent painful sensation
4-excruciating pain
Motor Exam
Speech
0-normal
1-slight loss of expression, diction, volume
2-monotone, slurred but understandable, mod. impaired
3-marked impairment, difficult to understand
4-unintelligible
Facial Expression
0-Normal
1-slight hypomymia, could be poker face
2-slight but definite abnormal diminution in expression
3-mod. hypomimia, lips parted some of time
4-masked or fixed face, lips parted 1/4 of inch or more with
complete loss of expression
Tremor at Rest
Face
0-absent
1-slight and infrequent
2-mild and present most of time
3-moderate and present most of time
4-marked and present most of time
Right Upper Extremity (RUE)
0-absent
1-slight and infrequent
2-mild and present most of time
3-moderate and present most of time
4-marked and present most of time
LUE
0-absent
1-slight and infrequent
2-mild and present most of time
3-moderate and present most of time
4-marked and present most of time
RLE
0-absent
1-slight and infrequent
2-mild and present most of time
3-moderate and present most of time
4-marked and present most of time
LLE
0-absent
1-slight and infrequent
2-mild and present most of time
3-moderate and present most of time
4-marked and present most of time
Action or Postural Tremor
RUE
0-absent
1-slight, present with action
2-moderate, present with action
3-moderate present with action and posture holding
4-marked, interferes with feeding
LUE
0-absent
1-slight, present with action
2-moderate, present with action
3-moderate present with action and posture holding
4-marked, interferes with feeding
Rigidity
Neck
0-absent
1-slight or only with activation
2-mild/moderate
3-marked, full range of motion
4-severe
RUE
0-absent
1-slight or only with activation
2-mild/moderate
3-marked, full range of motion
4-severe
LUE
0-absent
1-slight or only with activation
2-mild/moderate
3-marked, full range of motion
4-severe
RLE
0-absent
1-slight or only with activation
2-mild/moderate
3-marked, full range of motion
4-severe
LLE
0-absent
1-slight or only with activation
2-mild/moderate
3-marked, full range of motion
4-severe
Finger taps
Right
0-normal
1-mild slowing, and/or reduction in amp.
2-moderate impaired. Definite and early fatiguing, may
have occasional arrests
3-severely impaired. Frequent hesitations and arrests.
4-can barely perform
Left
0-normal
1-mild slowing, and/or reduction in amp.
2-moderate impaired. Definite and early fatiguing, may
have occasional arrests
3-severely impaired. Frequent hesitations and arrests.
4-can barely perform
Hand Movements (open and close hands in rapid succession)
Right
0-normal
1-mild slowing, and/or reduction in amp.
2-moderate impaired. Definite and early fatiguing, may
have occasional arrests
3-severely impaired. Frequent hesitations and arrests.
4-can barely perform
Left
0-normal
1-mild slowing, and/or reduction in amp.
2-moderate impaired. Definite and early fatiguing, may
have occasional arrests
3-severely impaired. Frequent hesitations and arrests.
4-can barely perform
Rapid Alternating Movements (pronate and supinate hands)
Right
0-normal
1-mild slowing, and/or reduction in amp.
2-moderate impaired. Definite and early fatiguing, may
have occasional arrests
3-severely impaired. Frequent hesitations and arrests.
4-can barely perform
Left
0-normal
1-mild slowing, and/or reduction in amp.
2-moderate impaired. Definite and early fatiguing, may
have occasional arrests
3-severely impaired. Frequent hesitations and arrests.
4-can barely perform
Leg Agility (tap heel on ground, amp should be 3 inches)
Right
0-normal
1-mild slowing, and/or reduction in amp.
2-moderate impaired. Definite and early fatiguing, may
have occasional arrests
3-severely impaired. Frequent hesitations and arrests.
4-can barely perform
Left
0-normal
1-mild slowing, and/or reduction in amp.
2-moderate impaired. Definite and early fatiguing, may
have occasional arrests
3-severely impaired. Frequent hesitations and arrests.
4-can barely perform
Arising From Chair (pt. arises with arms folded across chest)
0-normal
1-slow, may need more than one attempt
2-pushes self up from arms or seat
3-tends to fall back, may need multiple tries but can arise
without assistance
4-unable to arise without help
Posture
0-normal erect
1-slightly stooped, could be normal for older person
2-definitely abnormal, mod. stooped, may lean to one side
3-severely stooped with kyphosis
4-marked flexion with extreme abnormality of posture
Gait
0-normal
1-walks slowly, may shuffle with short steps, no festination
or propulsion
2-walks with difficulty, little or no assistance, some
festination, short steps or propulsion
3-severe disturbance, frequent assistance
4-cannot walk
Postural Stability (retropulsion test)
0-normal
1-recovers unaided
2-would fall if not caught
3-falls spontaneously
4-unable to standBody
Bradykinesia/ Hypokinesia
0-none
1-minimal slowness, could be normal, deliberate character
2-mild slowness and poverty of movement, definitely abnormal,
or dec. amp. of movement
3-moderate slowness, poverty, or small amplitude
4-marked slowness, poverty, or amplitude
Have you ever been in a Teaching Hospital? I have. Teams are assigned to wards
and consist of an instructor or professor and several students. The students
take turns taking medical histories. Not all of them ask the right questions
and base their diagnosis on incomplete information. The instructor is supposed
to provide the correct diagnosis in case the students get off base but your
history is the best defense a PD patient has in the hospital. Be an active
participant in your treatment. Have your Parkinson's ID card and refuse any
anesthesia that is contraindicated for your condition. Be vehment if
necessary.
Work together with your neurologist by providing him or her something to work
with. Knowing the questions, makes it easier to give the answers.
John Cottingham NEW ADDRESS: [log in to unmask]
