TY - JOUR
KW - Analgesics, Opioid/administration & dosage
KW - Child
KW - children
KW - Drug Administration Schedule
KW - Humans
KW - Methadone
KW - Methadone/administration & dosage
KW - Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome/drug therapy
KW - Opiate Substitution Treatment
KW - opioid withdrawal
KW - Opioid-Related Disorders/drug therapy
KW - Reproducibility of Results
AU - P. N. Johnson
AU - J. L. Miller
AU - T. M. Hagemann
AU - C. Castro
AU - D. Harrison
A1 - 
AB - BACKGROUND: Methadone is commonly prescribed for children with opioid abstinence syndrome (OAS) as a taper schedule over several days to weeks. The Medication Taper Complexity Score (MTCS) was developed to evaluate outpatient methadone tapers. OBJECTIVE: To further validate the MTCS and determine if it is a reliable tool for clinicians to use to assess the complexity of methadone tapers for OAS. METHODS: An expert panel of pediatric clinical pharmacists was convened. Panel members were provided 9 methadone tapers (ie, "easy," "medium," and "difficult") to determine construct and face validity of the MTCS. The primary objective was to further establish reliability and construct/face validity of the MTCS. The secondary objective was to assess the reliability of the MTCS within and between tapers. Instrument reliability was assessed using a Pearson correlation coefficient; with 0.8 as the minimum acceptable coefficient. Construct (divergent) validity was assessed via a repeated-measures ANOVA analysis (Bonferroni post hoc analyses) of the mean scores provided by panel members. RESULTS: Six panel members were recruited from various geographical locations. Panel members had 18.3 +/- 5.5 years of experience, with practice expertise in general pediatrics, hematology/oncology, and the pediatric and neonatal intensive care unit. The MTCS had a reliability coefficient of .9949. There was vivid discrimination between the easy, medium, and difficult tapers; P = .001. The panel recommended minor modifications to the MTCS. CONCLUSIONS: The MTCS was found to be a reliable and valid tool. Overall, the panel felt that the MTCS was easy to use and had potential applications in both practice and research.
BT - The Annals of Pharmacotherapy
C5 - Opioids & Substance Use; Healthcare Disparities; Measures
CP - 2
CY - United States
DO - 10.1177/1060028013512110
IS - 2
JF - The Annals of Pharmacotherapy
N2 - BACKGROUND: Methadone is commonly prescribed for children with opioid abstinence syndrome (OAS) as a taper schedule over several days to weeks. The Medication Taper Complexity Score (MTCS) was developed to evaluate outpatient methadone tapers. OBJECTIVE: To further validate the MTCS and determine if it is a reliable tool for clinicians to use to assess the complexity of methadone tapers for OAS. METHODS: An expert panel of pediatric clinical pharmacists was convened. Panel members were provided 9 methadone tapers (ie, "easy," "medium," and "difficult") to determine construct and face validity of the MTCS. The primary objective was to further establish reliability and construct/face validity of the MTCS. The secondary objective was to assess the reliability of the MTCS within and between tapers. Instrument reliability was assessed using a Pearson correlation coefficient; with 0.8 as the minimum acceptable coefficient. Construct (divergent) validity was assessed via a repeated-measures ANOVA analysis (Bonferroni post hoc analyses) of the mean scores provided by panel members. RESULTS: Six panel members were recruited from various geographical locations. Panel members had 18.3 +/- 5.5 years of experience, with practice expertise in general pediatrics, hematology/oncology, and the pediatric and neonatal intensive care unit. The MTCS had a reliability coefficient of .9949. There was vivid discrimination between the easy, medium, and difficult tapers; P = .001. The panel recommended minor modifications to the MTCS. CONCLUSIONS: The MTCS was found to be a reliable and valid tool. Overall, the panel felt that the MTCS was easy to use and had potential applications in both practice and research.
PP - United States
PY - 2014
SN - 1542-6270; 1060-0280
SP - 187
EP - 195
EP - 
T1 - External validation of the medication taper complexity score for methadone tapers in children with opioid abstinence syndrome
T2 - The Annals of Pharmacotherapy
TI - External validation of the medication taper complexity score for methadone tapers in children with opioid abstinence syndrome
U1 - Opioids & Substance Use; Healthcare Disparities; Measures
U2 - 24259650
U3 - 10.1177/1060028013512110
VL - 48
VO - 1542-6270; 1060-0280
Y1 - 2014
ER -