Replicating and Extending the Reliability, Criterion Validity, and Treatment Sensitivity of The Shortened PANSS for Pediatric Trials

Abstract Question: Do the shortened Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) [1] versions recently developed from a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) pediatric dataset continue to perform well in a third independent randomized double-blind clinical trial of adolescents with schizophrenia? Findings: Secondary analysis of the double-blind, placebo-controlled aripiprazole pivotal trial data ( N =302) found that the 10-item (and 20-item) PANSS versions on which we have previously reported [2] continued to provide high reliability, strong convergent correlation with expected measures, and treatment effects that equaled those found in the 30-item adult PANSS. Meaning: Our shortened PANSS, derived originally from the randomized non-placebo controlled NIMH Treatment of Early Onset Schizophrenia Spectrum study (TEOSS) [3], and independently replicated in both the placebo-controlled paliperidone pivotal trial for adolescents with schizophrenia [4], and now the placebo-controlled aripiprazole pivotal trial for adolescents with schizophrenia, has again performed as well as the full 30 item adult-patient derived PANSS. The findings suggest it is possible to reduce the PANSS interview by 2 thirds, thus reducing burden on families and pediatric patients as well as administration and training costs, while maintaining high reliability, validity, and sensitivity to treatment equal to that of the 30-item version.