Czech version of the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioral Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Screen - a pilot study

Objective: Our objective was to determine the cutoffs of the Czech version of the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioral ALS Screen (ECAS) for the assessment of cognitive impairment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Introduction: ECAS is currently the most specific multi-domain cognitive screening instrument for the detection of cognitive impairment in ALS. It consists of the cognitive and behavioral part and attenuates the interference of motor impairment on cognition during the assessment of patients with ALS. Currently, there are no validated Czech version methods available for the detection of cognitive impairment in ALS. Methods: Fifteen ALS patients (age 62.53 +/- 11.28 years) and 15 (61.07 +/- 10.99 years) age-, gender- and education-matched healthy controls were recruited. The conditional probability of the presence/absence of cognitive impairment was based on the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale, Second Edition. Subsequently, we performed a psychometric analysis regarding discriminative validity and the detection potential of ECAS based on the receiver operating curve analysis. Results: ECAS total score significantly differentiates between ALS and paired controls (p < 0.001) and the scale has a high potential for the detection of cognitive impairment in ALS (area under curve = 83%). The cutoff for the detection of cognitive impairment in ALS was 107/136 with 92% sensitivity and 83% specificity. Conclusion: We performed a translation and back-translation of ECAS into Czech and showed and showed adequate measurement properties of the Czech version on a sample of patients with ALS and paired controls from the Czech population. ECAS Czech version can be recommended for its detection potential of cognitive impairment in ALS for use in clinical practice.