Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40281531›Full record

Trial reportOrphanet journal of rare diseases2025

Initial Psychometric Evaluation of the Barth Syndrome Symptom Assessment (BTHS-SA) for Adolescents and Adults in a Phase 2 Clinical Study.

Chad Gwaltney, Alan Shields, Emily Love, Sarah Ollis, Jonathan Stokes, Iyar Mazar, Ethan Arenson, Anthony Aiudi, R J Wirth, Carrie Houts

Registry-linked trialAbstract readClinical Trial, Phase IIRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Orphanet journal of rare diseases, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03098797 (A Phase 2 Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Trial to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Subcutaneous Injections of Elamipretide in Subjects With Genetically Confirmed Barth Syndrome Followed by Open-Label Treatment), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT03098797 phase2 / phase3completednot on this map

A Phase 2 Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Trial to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Subcutaneous Injections of Elamipretide in Subjects With Genetically Confirmed Barth Syndrome Followed by Open-Label Treatment

TypeinterventionalSponsorStealth BioTherapeutics Inc.Ran2017 to 2021Enrolled12ConditionsBarth SyndromeArmsElamipretide, Placebo
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
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.

Chad GwaltneyGwaltney Consulting Group, Westerly, RI, USA. cgwaltney@gwaltneyconsulting.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8130-2024
Alan ShieldsAdelphi Values, Boston, MA, USA.
Emily LoveAdelphi Values, Boston, MA, USA.
Sarah OllisAdelphi Values, Boston, MA, USA.
Jonathan StokesAdelphi Values, Boston, MA, USA.
Iyar MazarAdelphi Values, Boston, MA, USA.
Ethan ArensonAdelphi Values, Boston, MA, USA.
Anthony AiudiStealth BioTherapeutics, Needham, MA, USA.
R J WirthVector Psychometric Group, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Carrie HoutsVector Psychometric Group, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBarth syndrome (BTHS) is a rare, X-linked disorder that stems from mutations in the TAFAZZIN (TAZ) gene with varying disease severity among patients. The Barth Syndrome Symptom Assessment (BTHS-SA) is a patient-reported outcome questionnaire developed to assess BTHS symptom severity. The current study reflects the first exploration of the assessment's psychometric performance.

methodsThe BTHS-SA was administered in TAZPOWER, a phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study to evaluate daily subcutaneous injections of elamipretide in subjects with genetically confirmed BTHS. Descriptive and correlational analyses were used to assess the score distributions, reliability, and construct-related validity of BTHS-SA items and domains including a two-item (2 FS), three-item (3 FS), and four-item (4 FS) fatigue score, and a five-item myopathy score (5MS).

resultsAmong the N = 12 white males (M age = 19.5, SD = 7.7) participating in the TAZPOWER trial, overall symptoms were rated as mild (n = 5, 41.7%), moderate (n = 5, 41.7%), severe (n = 1, 8.3%), or very severe (n = 1, 8.3%). Descriptive statistics for the BTHS-SA scores indicate variability of symptom severity both within symptom cluster and across patients. Promising results were found for both internal consistency (α = 0.67, 0.72, and 0.66 for the 3 FS, 4 FS, and 5MS, respectively) and test-retest reliability (ICC values ranging from 0.79 to 0.94 across two test-retest intervals). Correlational analyses showing moderate to strong relationships to other patient reports of fatigue (e.g., r = 0.59, 0.76, 0.68, and 0.61 between the PROMIS Fatigue SF and the 2 FS, 3 FS, 4 FS, and 5MS, respectively) and symptom severity (e.g., r = 0.60, 0.62, 0.56, 0.53 between a patient global rating and the 2 FS, 3 FS, 4 FS, and 5MS, respectively) support the measure's convergent validity. A similar pattern of relationships was observed when correlating changes in BTHS-SA scores to reference measures, including moderate to strong relationships between the BTHS-SA and direct patient reports of change (r = 0.81, 0.79, 0.82, and 0.80 between a global impression of change score and the 2 FS, 3 FS, 4 FS, and 5MS, respectively).

conclusionThough the small sample size limits strong conclusions, this analysis suggests the BTHS-SA can produce reliable scores upon which valid inferences may be drawn. The BTHS-SA may be a useful tool to evaluate treatment benefits in this underserved population.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT03098797. Registered 05 May 2017, https://www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov/study/NCT03098797 .

Indexed as

Barth SyndromePsychometricsSymptom AssessmentAdolescentAdultCross-Over StudiesDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansMaleOligopeptidesYoung AdultOligopeptidesBarth syndromeBarth syndrome symptom assessmentBTHS-SAInstrument developmentPatient-reported outcomePROPsychometric evaluation

Identifiers

PMID40281531
PMCPMC12032656

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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.