Neurological Sciences | 2021
Disability assessment using Google Maps
Abstract
To evaluate the concordance between Google Maps® application (GM®) and clinical practice measurements of ambulatory function (e.g., Ambulation Score (AS) and respective Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS)) in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). This is a cross-sectional multicenter study. AS and EDSS were calculated using GM® and routine clinical methods; the correspondence between the two methods was assessed. A multinomial logistic model is investigated which demographic (age, sex) and clinical features (e.g., disease subtype, fatigue, depression) might have influenced discrepancies between the two methods. Two hundred forty-three pwMS were included; discrepancies in AS and in EDDS assessments between GM® and routine clinical methods were found in 81/243 (33.3%) and 74/243 (30.4%) pwMS, respectively. Progressive phenotype (odds ratio [OR]\u2009=\u20092.8; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1–7.11, p\u2009=\u20090.03), worse fatigue (OR\u2009=\u20091.03; 95% CI 1.01–1.06, p\u2009=\u20090.01), and more severe depression (OR\u2009=\u20091.1; 95% CI 1.04–1.17, p\u2009=\u20090.002) were associated with discrepancies between GM® and routine clinical scoring. GM® could easily be used in a real-life clinical setting to calculate the AS and the related EDSS scores. GM® should be considered for validation in further clinical studies.