The Greek Version of Mini-Manual Ability Classification System (Mini-MACS): Translation and Reliability Study

Abstract

Introduction: The Mini-Manual Ability Classification System (Mini-MACS) is an adaptation of the MACS for children with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 1-4 years, which classifies children's performance to handle objects that are relevant to their age and development. The availability of a reliable Mini-MACS in Greek would allow for using it safely and properly in the clinical and research context of Greece. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to translate the original English version into Greek and examine its test-retest and interrater reliability.Material and Methods: The English Mini-MACS was translated into Greek using the "forward-backward" method. Sixty-three children with CP, Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels I-V, aged 12 -50 months were included in the reliability study. Test-retest and interrater reliability were assessed using the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The association between Mini-MACS and GMFCS level ratings was also assessed using Spearman's rho correlation coefficient (ρ).Results: The translated version was easy to understand and use. The Greek Mini-MACS was found to have excellent test-retest reliability (ICC > 0.96) for both parents and therapists, good interrater reliability (ICC=0.89) between therapists and parents, and moderate-to-strong correlation with the GMFCS (ρ = 0.56-0.64, p < 0.0001). Conclusion:The Greek Mini-MACS constitutes a user-friendly and reliable scale for use in the Greek population.

Microplastics in the Lung Tissues Associated with Blood Test Index

“…Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the correlation between MP concentration in lung tissues and certain blood test indexes. The absolute value of the correlation coefficient r reflects the correlation between the MP concentrations and these clinical examination indexes, which were classified as quite weak (0.1–0.19), weak (0.20–0.39), moderate (0.40–0.59), strong (0.60–0.79) and extremely strong (0.80–1.00) [ 37 , 38 ]. All statistical analyses were performed using R software version 4.1.1 (R core team, Vienna, Austria) and SPSS26.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA), and p -value < 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant for all two-sided statistical tests.…”