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Minimal clinically important differences for treatment of hallucinations in Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies

Lookup NU author(s): Professor John-Paul TaylorORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).


Abstract

© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press. Background: Hallucinations are common and distressing symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD). Treatment response in clinical trials is measured using validated questionnaires, including the Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms-Hallucinations (SAPS-H) and University of Miami PD Hallucinations Questionnaire (UM-PDHQ). The minimum clinically important difference (MCID) has not been determined for either scale. This study aimed to estimate a range of MCIDs for SAPS-H and UM-PDHQ using both consensus-based and statistical approaches. Methods A Delphi survey was used to seek opinions of researchers, clinicians, and people with lived experience. We defined consensus as agreement ≥75%. Statistical approaches used blinded data from the first 100 PD participants in the Trial for Ondansetron as Parkinson's Hallucinations Treatment (TOP HAT, NCT04167813). The distribution-based approach defined the MCID as 0.5 of the standard deviation of change in scores from baseline at 12 weeks. The anchor-based approach defined the MCID as the average change in scores corresponding to a 1-point improvement in clinical global impression-severity scale (CGI-S). Results: Fifty-one researchers and clinicians contributed to three rounds of the Delphi survey and reached consensus that the MCID was 2 points on both scales. Sixteen experts with lived experience reached the same consensus. Distribution-defined MCIDs were 2.6 points for SAPS-H and 1.3 points for UM-PDHQ, whereas anchor-based MCIDs were 2.1 and 1.3 points, respectively. Conclusions: We used triangulation from multiple methodologies to derive the range of MCID estimates for the two rating scales, which was between 2 and 2.7 points for SAPS-H and 1.3 and 2 points for UM-PDHQ.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Reeves S, Mahdi J, Appleby M, Zubko O, Lee T, Barber JA, Liu KY, Taylor J-P, Henderson EJ, Schrag A, Howard R, Weil RS

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Psychological Medicine

Year: 2025

Volume: 55

Online publication date: 24/03/2025

Acceptance date: 18/02/2025

Date deposited: 14/04/2025

ISSN (print): 0033-2917

ISSN (electronic): 1469-8978

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291725000534

DOI: 10.1017/S0033291725000534

Data Access Statement: Data are not available for sharing as recruitment to the TOP HAT trial is ongoing.

PubMed id: 40125723


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Funding

Funder referenceFunder name
British Geriatrics Society
Dunhill Society
Gatsby Foundation
National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre
NIHR
Parkinson's UK, 1–1902
NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre
Parkinson's UK
Royal Osteoporosis Society
Wellcome 225263/Z/22/Z

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