Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33967898›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in psychology2021

Computerized Symbol Digit Modalities Test in a Swiss Pediatric Cohort Part 1: Validation.

Céline Hochstrasser, Sarah Rieder, Ursina Jufer-Riedi, Marie-Noëlle Klein, Anthony Feinstein, Brenda L Banwell, Michelle Steiner, Li Mei Cao, Karen Lidzba, Sandra Bigi

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Differential Validity in the Written, Oral, and Electronic SDMT in Multiple Sclerosis.Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England) · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Céline HochstrasserDivision of Child Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University Children's Hospital Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Sarah RiederDivision of Child Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University Children's Hospital Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Ursina Jufer-RiediDivision of Child Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University Children's Hospital Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Marie-Noëlle KleinDivision of Child Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University Children's Hospital Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Anthony FeinsteinDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Brenda L BanwellThe Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Michelle SteinerDivision of Child Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University Children's Hospital Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Li Mei CaoDivision of Child Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University Children's Hospital Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Karen LidzbaDivision of Child Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University Children's Hospital Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Sandra BigiDivision of Child Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University Children's Hospital Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
University Children’s Hospital Bern · CHUniversity of Bern · CHChildren's Hospital of Philadelphia · USUniversity of Toronto · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe objective of this study was to validate the computerized Symbol Digit Modalities Test (c-SDMT) in a Swiss pediatric cohort, in comparing the Swiss sample to the Canadian norms. Secondly, we evaluated sex effects, age-effects, and test-retest reliability of the c-SDMT in comparison to values obtained for the paper and pencil version of the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT).

methodsThis longitudinal observational study was conducted in a single-center setting at the University Children's Hospital of Bern. Our cohort consisted of 86 children (45 male and 41 female) aged from 8 to 16 years. The cohort included both healthy participants (

resultsTest-retest reliability was high in both tests (SDMT: ICC = 0.89, c-SDMT: ICC = 0.90). A reliable change index was calculated for the SDMT (RCIp = -3.18, 14.01) and the c-SDMT (RCIp = -5.45, 1.46) corrected for practice effects. While a significant age effect on information processing speed was observed, no such effect was found for sex. When data on the c-SDMT performance of the Swiss cohort was compared with that from a Canadian cohort, no significant difference was found for the mean time per trial in any age group. Norm values for age groups between 8 and 16 years in the Swiss cohort were established.

conclusionNorms for the c-SDMT between the Swiss and the Canadian cohort were comparable. The c-SDMT is a valid alternative to the SDMT. It is a feasible and easy to administer bedside tool due to high reliability and the lack of motor demands.

Indexed as

age-effectc-SDMTinformation processing speednormspractice effectsSDMTsex-effecttest-retest reliability

Identifiers

PMID33967898
PMCPMC8101631
OpenAlexW3158206394

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.