PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To assess the criterion and construct validity and inter-rater reliability of the Czech version of the Mississippi Aphasia Screening Test (MASTcz). RESEARCH DESIGN: Prospective evaluation of consecutive inpatients admitted to the stroke unit of a university hospital within 60 days of onset of a unilateral left hemispheric ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke with documented aphasia (LHA + ; n = 149). As control groups, unilateral right hemisphere stroke patients without aphasia (RHA-; n = 45) and healthy volunteers recruited from the community to comprise a non-patient control group (CG; n = 243) were examined. METHODS: Data collection included administration of MASTcz (in 52 LHA + patients, repeated by two blinded observers within 24 hours), Edinburgh inventory, Minimental State Examination score and chart review. The presence of aphasia was documented with a standard clinical logopaedic examination and also with the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) in 45 LHA+ patients. RESULTS: MASTcz displayed high criterion validity (with sensitivity and specificity above 90%) in discrimination between stroke aphasia patients and both control subjects and RHA- stroke patients, high construct validity (close correlation with WAB score; r = 0.933), and acceptable interrater reliability. CONCLUSION: Analyses suggest the usefulness of MASTcz as a reliable and valid screening tool for the detection of aphasia and tracking of its progress.

Department of Neurology Faculty Hospital and Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic