Clinical Research Directory

Validation Study of the Performance of the French Version of the Autism Mental Status Examination Scale as a Tool for Identifying Autism Spectrum Disorder in Adults

Sponsor: Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

Summary

To improve diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), expert centers have been set up in France since 2000/2010. However, waiting times in these centers are long, mean of 19 months for adults, and more than half the people seen do not end up with an ASD, even though referral by a psychiatrist is increasingly required. Therefore, validated diagnostic tools for screening before referral are needed. The Autism Mental Status Exam (AMSE), a 8-item tool, which is quick and easy to use, appears to have excellent sensitivity (0.91) and specificity (0.93). However, this tool was only evaluated when used by experts and on a sample of 50 patients. The hypothesis of this study is that the AMSE, used by non-expert psychiatrists, has sufficiently good diagnostic performance (minimal sensitivity and specificity of respectively 93% and 65%) to be used in screening adults with suspected ASD.

Official title: Validation Study of the Screening Performance of the French Version of the Autism Mental Status Examination Scale as a Tool for Identifying Autism Spectrum Disorder in Adults

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