Objective: The objective of this study is to examine the effectiveness of an accelerometer-based compact system in detecting and quantifying drug-induced parkinsonism (DIP) in patients with schizophrenia.
Method: A pilot study controlled clinical trial comprising 6 people with schizophrenia and 11 control subjects was conducted at Alfred Health, Melbourne. Participants had their movements assessed using Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale (BARS), Simpson Angus Scale (SAS) and Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part III (MDS-UPDRS III) followed by an assessment of gait using three triaxial accelerometers.
Results: Median BARS, SAS, MDS-UPDRS III and accelerometer scores were significantly higher for patients with schizophrenia than controls. Accelerometers detected three times more rest tremor than clinical rating scales. Patients with schizophrenia had 70% of their dynamic acceleration at frequencies between 4 and 10 Hz, which is almost twice that observed in the control population (38%). Accelerometer scores were significantly correlated with BARS scores.
Conclusion: Accelerometers were able to accurately detect patients with DIP better than some clinical rating scale including the SAS. Further larger-scale studies must be conducted to further demonstrate the accuracy of accelerometers in detecting DIP.
Keywords: accelerometer; akathisia; anti-psychotic agents; drug-induced parkinsonism; schizophrenia.