AGREEMENT BETWEEN FACE-TO-FACE AND TELEPHONE-ADMINISTERED MOOD RATINGS IN PATIENTS WITH RAPID-CYCLING BIPOLAR DISORDER

We examined the reliability and level of agreement between the telepho ne and face-to-face administration of two mood-rating scales (HIGH-SAD and SIGH-SAD) in patients with rapid cycling bipolar disorder (RCBD). Two clinicians administered the HIGH-SAD and SIGH-SAD to 14 outpatien ts with RCBD. Patients received consecutive phone and face-to-face moo d ratings in a randomized order. Using a paired t-test, no significant differences were found when comparing HIGH-SAD and SIGH-SAD scores ad ministered face-to-face and over the phone. There was a high correlati on between the face-to-face and phone administration of both scales as measured by intraclass correlation (r = 0.94 for SIGH-SAD; r = 0.85 f or HIGH-SAD). Our results support the use of phone-administered mood r atings as a reliable and convenient method to monitor patients with RC BD. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.