Development of the Finnish neurological function testing battery for dogs and its intra- and inter-rater reliability

Abstract

BackgroundThe Finnish neurological function testing battery for dogs (FINFUN) was developed to meet the increasing demand for objective outcome measures in veterinary physiotherapy. The testing battery should provide consistent, reproducible results and have established face and content validity. Internal consistency and intra- and inter-rater reliability of the FINFUN were also investigated.ResultsThe FINFUN comprised 11 tasks: lying, standing up from lying, sitting, standing up from sitting, standing, proprioceptive positioning, starting to walk, walking, trotting, walking turns and walking stairs. A score from 0 to 4, (0: unable to perform task, 4: performing task with normal motor function) was given for each task, the maximum score being 44. Twenty-six dogs were filmed when performing the FINFUN. Seven observers scored the performances from the video recordings. The FINFUN was considered to have appropriate face and content validity based on a pilot study, clinical experience and critical reflection of the development process. Its internal consistency was excellent, with no Cronbach’s alpha values below 0.922. The intra-rater reliability for total score of experienced observers was almost perfect: 0.999 (observer 1) and 0.994 (observer 2). The inter-rater reliability for both experienced and novice observers’ total scores was also almost perfect (0.919–0.993). Analysis of each individual task showed substantial intra-rater and inter-rater agreement for the tasks “lying” and “sitting”.ConclusionsThe FINFUN is an objective, valid and reliable tool with standardized scoring criteria for evaluation of motor function in dogs recovering from spinal cord injury.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13028-018-0408-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Development of a Simple Method to Measure Static Body Weight Distribution in Neurologically Normal Small Breed Dogs

“…24 A battery of neurologic function tests that broadly assesses motor function called the FINFUN was also recently developed and validated in a group of dogs recovering from SCI. 21 However, there is a paucity of objective measures to quantify and track other aspects of functional recovery, such as weight distribution.…”

“…11,[15][16][17][18][19][20] Recently, a functional testing battery was validated to evaluate motor function in dogs recovering from SCI. 21 While these methods provide ways to broadly evaluate motor and ambulation, additional tools are needed to complement these methods and provide simple, reliable means to quantify other aspects of functional recovery in dogs undergoing rehabilitation.…”

Generation of Domains for the Equine Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Outcome Score: Development by Expert Consensus

“…Similarly, in dogs, functional tests are available such as the Canine Brief Pain Index and the Helsinki Chronic Pain Index [23,54] which include questions on tasks such as how well the dog rises to standing and willingness to walk or run. A functional score for dogs with neurological conditions has been tested for inter-rater reliability by seven observers scoring tasks of progressive difficulty such as standing up from lying, walking in turns or walking stairs [25]. The performance was graded with a numeric score from 0, indicating that the dog cannot perform the task to 4, which represented normal motor function.…”

“…No such scores exist in equine assessment but a simple battery of tests could be devised that included movements such as flexion of the neck [69] and turning small circles [70]. Any such testing procedure would need to be subject to evaluation of face and content validity and reliability testing similar to the neurological function tests for dogs devised by Boström et al [25].…”

“…For sport injuries, the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment Scales for patella tendinosis and achilles tendinopathy, and the Copenhagen Hip and Groin Outcome Score are examples of OMs that have been generated to score pain, symptoms and physical function [20][21][22]. For dogs, outcomes can be measured with the Helsinki Chronic Pain Index, the Canine Brief Pain Index or the Finnish neurological function testing battery for dogs named the FINFUN [23][24][25]. These examples of composite OMs for humans and dogs have face validity, have undergone reliability and validity testing, and are used in clinical practice; however, no composite OMs have been developed for equine physical rehabilitation.…”