Evaluation of the MuSICCA for measuring awareness V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluating the validity, reliability, and clinical utility of the Music Therapy Sensory Instrument for Cognition, Consciousness and Awareness (MuSICCA) in children and youth with prolonged disorders of consciousness.
IRAS ID
167534
Contact name
Jonathan W Pool
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Children's Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Prolonged disorders of consciousness (PDOC) include the vegetative state (VS) and the minimally conscious state (MCS) that persist for longer than four weeks. This research seeks to evaluate the validity (accuracy), reliability, and clinical utility (usefulness to clinicians) of the children’s version of the Music Therapy Assessment Tool for Awareness in Disorders of Consciousness (MATADOC). The paediatric version is called the Music therapy Sensory Instrument for Cognition, Consciousness and Awareness (MuSICCA). The MATADOC is known to be accurate in diagnosis and has been shown to be clinically useful when working with adults. However, currently, there are no equivalent measures that have been rigorously tested for working with children. Therefore, there is a significant need for a valid and reliable measure, especially when the consequences of misdiagnosis include insufficient care provision, unsuitable treatment programmes, poor identification of intentions to communicate, and insufficient evidence for making difficult decisions around withdrawal of hydration and nutrition.
The study will invite participants aged 2-18 years, who the medical team suspect of having a PDOC, from various medical facilities in the UK, Ireland and other English-speaking countries. Parental/carer consent will be required for inclusion in the study.
Data collection will occur over 2 years. Each participant will be involved once for a maximum of 8 assessment sessions (2 for each measure used). The MuSICCA assessment protocol involves presenting musical stimuli in three modalities (visual, auditory, and tactile). The participants will be instructed to respond to stimuli and commands. Sessions will be recorded using audio-visual equipment and physical responses will be noted on documentation. The information gained will inform diagnosis and treatment. The participants’ behaviours will also be scored on the Coma Recovery Scale – Revised (CRS-R) (the gold standard for diagnosis of DOC in adults), the Coma/Near Coma Scale (CNC) and the Nociception Coma Scale Revised (NCS-R).REC name
East of England - Essex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/EE/0137
Date of REC Opinion
12 Jun 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion