Reliability and usability of telemedicine evaluations for facial dystonia.

This study investigated telemedicine reliability and usability in evaluating facial dystonia grading and treatment complications. Eighty-two telemedicine recordings from 43 adults with blepharospasm (12, 28%) and hemifacial spasm (31, 72%) were obtained (mean age 64.5 ± 9.3 years, 32 females [64%]). Two recorded in-hospital telemedicine visits were arranged with in-person visits at baseline and 4-6 weeks. After 8 weeks, neuro-ophthalmologists who performed the in-person visits re-evaluated the telemedicine video records. Intra-rater agreements in assessing spasm gradings were moderate (severity: kappa = 0.42, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.21-0.62; frequency: kappa = 0.41, 95% CI 0.21-0.61) with substantial agreement in detecting lagophthalmos (kappa = 0.61, 95% CI 0.36-0.86). Adding symptoms to signs increased sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) in detecting lagophthalmos (67%-100% and 94%-100%) and drooping lips (38%-75% and 94%-96%), respectively. Thai version Telehealth Usability Questionnaire showed high mean usability score of 6.5 (SD 0.8) out of 7. Telemedicine could further be developed as an alternative platform to evaluate facial dystonia.

Evaluation of Psychometric Properties of Thai Version Telehealth Usability Questionnaire (T-TUQ).

This cross-sectional validation study aimed to translate, cross-culturally adapt, and investigate the psychometric properties of a Thai version of the Telehealth Usability Questionnaire (T-TUQ). Two hundred and ten Thai participants, mean age of 61.2±15.2 years, were recruited from three specialty clinics: 50 (23.8%) hematology, 70 (33.3%) movement disorders, and 90 (42.9%) general neurology. The T-TUQ was translated from the original English version to produce a Thai language version. Back translation and pilot cognitive interviews were completed. All five subscales (usefulness, ease of use, effectiveness, reliability, and satisfaction) showed excellent internal consistency (alpha >0.80), displayed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.83, 0.94, 0.86, 0.83, and 0.92, respectively. For construct validity, exploratory factor analysis revealed two dimensions from eigenvalues and scree plot, defined as utility and accessibility subscales. In conclusion, the T-TUQ could be a reliable and valid instrument to evaluate the usability of telehealth with a Thai population.