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Cross-cultural Adaptation and Multicenter Validation of the Italian Versions of the Brief Evaluation of Receptive Aphasia (BERA) and SWallowing Assessment in Disorders of Consciousness (SWADOC)

14 juillet 2026 mis à jour par: Alfonso Magliacano

Adattamento Trans-culturale e Validazione Multicentrica Della Versione Italiana Delle Scale Brief Evaluation of Receptive Aphasia (BERA) e SWallowing Assessment in Disorders of Consciousness (SWADOC)

Patients with severe acquired brain injury may evolve from coma into prolonged disorders of consciousness. In these patients, residual language comprehension and swallowing abilities are difficult to evaluate because standard assessments often depend on verbal or motor responses. The Brief Evaluation of Receptive Aphasia (BERA) assesses receptive language abilities through visual/eye-movement responses, whereas the SWallowing Assessment in Disorders of Consciousness (SWADOC) assesses oral and pharyngeal components of swallowing in patients with disorders of consciousness. This national multicenter observational study aims to perform the Italian cross-cultural adaptation and validation of BERA and SWADOC. Consecutive adult inpatients with severe acquired brain injury and disorders of consciousness will be recruited from four Italian centers. SWADOC will be administered to 57 patients, and BERA will be administered to a nested subgroup of 22 patients who meet additional criteria. Inter-rater reliability, test-retest reliability over 24 hours, and convergent validity with Coma Recovery Scale-Revised scores will be analyzed.

Aperçu de l'étude

Statut

Pas encore de recrutement

Les conditions

Intervention / Traitement

Description détaillée

This study is part of the Horizon MSCA DoC-Box project, which aims to develop a multimodal toolbox to support fast and reliable diagnosis of disorders of consciousness. The study includes two consecutive phases. In Phase 1, the original French versions of BERA and SWADOC will be translated into Italian by two expert translators. The translated versions will be synthesized, back-translated into the original language by two independent blinded translators, compared, discussed, and revised by researchers and experts according to international guidelines for translation and cultural adaptation. In Phase 2, the Italian versions will be evaluated in a multicenter observational validation study involving three Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi centers (Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, Florence, Milan) and the IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta in Milan. After diagnostic confirmation based on repeated CRS-R assessments, Examiner A will administer the SECONDs to assess the level of consciousness. On the same day, Examiner B will administer the Italian BERA and/or SWADOC, while Examiner C will independently score the scales to assess inter-rater agreement. After approximately 24 hours, Examiner A will repeat the SECONDs, and either Examiner B or Examiner C will repeat BERA and/or SWADOC to assess test-retest reliability. Demographic and clinical variables, level of consciousness, total scores, and subscale scores will be entered in a centralized pseudonymized REDCap database and analyzed in aggregate form.

Type d'étude

Observationnel

Inscription (Estimé)

79

Contacts et emplacements

Cette section fournit les coordonnées de ceux qui mènent l'étude et des informations sur le lieu où cette étude est menée.

Coordonnées de l'étude

Sauvegarde des contacts de l'étude

Lieux d'étude

  • Italie
      • Florence, Italie
        • IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi
        • Contact:
      • Milan, Italie
      • Milan, Italie
        • IRCCS SM Nascente Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi
        • Contact:
    • AV
      • Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, AV, Italie, 83054
        • Polo Specialistico Riabilitativo Fondazione Don Gnocchi
        • Contact:

Critères de participation

Les chercheurs recherchent des personnes qui correspondent à une certaine description, appelée critères d'éligibilité. Certains exemples de ces critères sont l'état de santé général d'une personne ou des traitements antérieurs.

Critère d'éligibilité

Âges éligibles pour étudier

  • Adulte
  • Adulte plus âgé

Accepte les volontaires sains

Non

Méthode d'échantillonnage

Échantillon non probabiliste

Population étudiée

Adult inpatients with severe acquired brain injury and a stable diagnosis of disorder of consciousness consecutively admitted to the four participating Italian rehabilitation/neurorehabilitation centers and meeting the inclusion/exclusion criteria.

La description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age >= 18 years.
  • Native Italian speaker.
  • Diagnosis of severe acquired brain injury.
  • At least 28 days since the acute event.
  • For SWADOC validation: stable clinical diagnosis of disorder of consciousness, including UWS, MCS, or EMCS, assessed with the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised repeated at least five times over two weeks.
  • For BERA validation: stable clinical diagnosis of MCS or EMCS assessed with the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised repeated at least five times over two weeks.
  • For BERA validation: presence of visual fixation and/or visual pursuit assessed with the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised.
  • No remote history of neurological, neurodegenerative, or psychiatric disease; for SWADOC validation, no remote history of otorhinolaryngological disease.
  • Written informed consent provided by the primary caregiver/legal representative according to local regulations.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Occurrence of a second cerebral event between enrollment and data collection.
  • Unstable general clinical condition preventing assessment, including but not limited to need for ventilatory support, severe infection, or status epilepticus.

Plan d'étude

Cette section fournit des détails sur le plan d'étude, y compris la façon dont l'étude est conçue et ce que l'étude mesure.

Comment l'étude est-elle conçue ?

Détails de conception

Cohortes et interventions

Groupe / Cohorte
Intervention / Traitement
Patients with severe acquired brain injury and disorders of consciousness
Consecutive adult inpatients with severe acquired brain injury and a stable diagnosis of disorder of consciousness admitted to one of the four participating centers and meeting eligibility criteria. All eligible participants will undergo SWADOC validation assessments. A nested subgroup of the first 22 participants who also meet BERA-specific criteria will undergo BERA validation assessments.
Test diagnostique: Italian SWallowing Assessment in Disorders of Consciousness (SWADOC)
Structured clinical assessment of oral and pharyngeal swallowing components in patients with disorders of consciousness. The Italian version will be administered and scored by trained examiners to evaluate inter-rater and test-retest reliability.
Test diagnostique: Italian Brief Evaluation of Receptive Aphasia (BERA)
Brief clinical assessment of receptive language abilities, including phonology, semantics, and morphosyntax. Responses are based on visual/eye-movement behavior, allowing assessment of patients unable to communicate verbally or through reliable motor responses. It will be administered to the nested subgroup meeting BERA-specific criteria.

Que mesure l'étude ?

Principaux critères de jugement

Mesure des résultats
Description de la mesure
Délai
Inter-rater reliability of the Italian Swallowing Assessment in Disorders of Consciousness total score
Délai: Day 1, during the first assessment session
Inter-rater reliability will be assessed for the total score of the Italian version of the Swallowing Assessment in Disorders of Consciousness. The SWADOC total score ranges from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating better preserved swallowing abilities. The reported outcome will be the intraclass correlation coefficient for agreement between independent raters. The intraclass correlation coefficient is a unitless reliability coefficient ranging from 0 to 1, with higher values indicating greater inter-rater reliability. The SWADOC quantitative scoring system includes 8 scored items rated from 0 to 3, allowing calculation of oral and pharyngeal subscores and a total score.
Day 1, during the first assessment session
Test-retest reliability of the Italian Swallowing Assessment in Disorders of Consciousness total score
Délai: Baseline and approximately 24 hours later
Test-retest reliability will be assessed for the total score of the Italian version of the Swallowing Assessment in Disorders of Consciousness. The SWADOC total score ranges from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating better preserved swallowing abilities. The reported outcome will be the intraclass correlation coefficient between the baseline assessment and the reassessment performed approximately 24 hours later. The intraclass correlation coefficient is a unitless reliability coefficient ranging from 0 to 1, with higher values indicating greater test-retest reliability.
Baseline and approximately 24 hours later
Inter-rater reliability of the Italian Brief Evaluation of Receptive Aphasia total score
Délai: Day 1, during the first assessment session
Inter-rater reliability will be assessed for the total score of the Italian version of the Brief Evaluation of Receptive Aphasia in the eligible subgroup of patients. The BERA total score ranges from 0 to 30, with higher scores indicating better receptive language abilities. The reported outcome will be the intraclass correlation coefficient for agreement between independent raters. The intraclass correlation coefficient is a unitless reliability coefficient ranging from 0 to 1, with higher values indicating greater inter-rater reliability. The BERA includes 30 items per version, with 10 phonological, 10 semantic, and 10 morphosyntactic items; each correct visual fixation response is scored as 1 point and errors or absent fixation as 0 points.
Day 1, during the first assessment session
Test-retest reliability of the Italian Brief Evaluation of Receptive Aphasia total score
Délai: Baseline and approximately 24 hours later
Test-retest reliability will be assessed for the total score of the Italian version of the Brief Evaluation of Receptive Aphasia in the eligible subgroup of patients. The BERA total score ranges from 0 to 30, with higher scores indicating better receptive language abilities. The reported outcome will be the intraclass correlation coefficient between the baseline assessment and the reassessment performed approximately 24 hours later. The intraclass correlation coefficient is a unitless reliability coefficient ranging from 0 to 1, with higher values indicating greater test-retest reliability.
Baseline and approximately 24 hours later

Mesures de résultats secondaires

Mesure des résultats
Description de la mesure
Délai
Convergent validity of the Italian Swallowing Assessment in Disorders of Consciousness total score with the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised total score
Délai: Baseline/Day 1
Convergent validity will be assessed by calculating the Spearman rank correlation coefficient between the total score of the Italian version of the Swallowing Assessment in Disorders of Consciousness and the total score of the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised. The SWADOC total score ranges from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating better preserved swallowing abilities. The Coma Recovery Scale-Revised total score ranges from 0 to 23, with higher scores indicating a higher level of consciousness. The reported outcome will be Spearman's rho, a unitless correlation coefficient ranging from -1 to +1.
Baseline/Day 1
Convergent validity of the Italian Brief Evaluation of Receptive Aphasia total score with the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised total score
Délai: Baseline/Day 1
Convergent validity will be assessed by calculating the Spearman rank correlation coefficient between the total score of the Italian version of the Brief Evaluation of Receptive Aphasia and the total score of the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised. The BERA total score ranges from 0 to 30, with higher scores indicating better receptive language abilities. The Coma Recovery Scale-Revised total score ranges from 0 to 23, with higher scores indicating a higher level of consciousness. The reported outcome will be Spearman's rho, a unitless correlation coefficient ranging from -1 to +1.
Baseline/Day 1

Collaborateurs et enquêteurs

C'est ici que vous trouverez les personnes et les organisations impliquées dans cette étude.

Parrainer

Alfonso Magliacano

Collaborateurs

Fondazione I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta

Les enquêteurs

  • Chercheur principal: Alfonso Magliacano, PhD, Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi

Dates d'enregistrement des études

Ces dates suivent la progression des dossiers d'étude et des soumissions de résultats sommaires à ClinicalTrials.gov. Les dossiers d'étude et les résultats rapportés sont examinés par la Bibliothèque nationale de médecine (NLM) pour s'assurer qu'ils répondent à des normes de contrôle de qualité spécifiques avant d'être publiés sur le site Web public.

Dates principales de l'étude

Début de l'étude (Estimé)

1 septembre 2026

Achèvement primaire (Estimé)

31 août 2028

Achèvement de l'étude (Estimé)

31 août 2028

Dates d'inscription aux études

Première soumission

9 juillet 2026

Première soumission répondant aux critères de contrôle qualité

14 juillet 2026

Première publication (Réel)

17 juillet 2026

Mises à jour des dossiers d'étude

Dernière mise à jour publiée (Réel)

17 juillet 2026

Dernière mise à jour soumise répondant aux critères de contrôle qualité

14 juillet 2026

Dernière vérification

1 juillet 2026

Plus d'information

Termes liés à cette étude

Mots clés

Termes MeSH pertinents supplémentaires

Autres numéros d'identification d'étude

  • BERA-SWADOC

Plan pour les données individuelles des participants (IPD)

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INDÉCIS

Informations sur les médicaments et les dispositifs, documents d'étude

Étudie un produit pharmaceutique réglementé par la FDA américaine

Non

Étudie un produit d'appareil réglementé par la FDA américaine

Non

Ces informations ont été extraites directement du site Web clinicaltrials.gov sans aucune modification. Si vous avez des demandes de modification, de suppression ou de mise à jour des détails de votre étude, veuillez contacter register@clinicaltrials.gov. Dès qu'un changement est mis en œuvre sur clinicaltrials.gov, il sera également mis à jour automatiquement sur notre site Web .

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