Test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change of two simplified 3-point balance measures in patients with stroke.

BACKGROUND: The 3-point Berg Balance Scale (BBS-3P) and 3-point Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients (PASS-3P) were simplified from the BBS and PASS to overcome the complex scoring systems. The BBS-3P and PASS-3P were more feasible in busy clinical practice and showed similarly sound validity and responsiveness to the original measures. However, the reliability of the BBS-3P and PASS-3P is unknown limiting their utility and the interpretability of scores.

AIM: We aimed to examine the test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change (MDC) of the BBS-3P and PASS-3P in patients with stroke.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.

SETTING: The rehabilitation departments of a medical center and a community hospital.

POPULATION: A total of 51 chronic stroke patients (64.7% male).

METHODS: Both balance measures were administered twice 7 days apart. The test-retest reliability of both the BBS-3P and PASS-3P were examined by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). The MDC and its percentage over the total score (MDC%) of each measure was calculated for examining the random measurement errors.

RESULTS: The ICC values of the BBS-3P and PASS-3P were 0.99 and 0.97, respectively. The MDC% (MDC) of the BBS-3P and PASS-3P were 9.1% (5.1 points) and 8.4% (3.0 points), respectively, indicating that both measures had small and acceptable random measurement errors.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that both the BBS-3P and the PASS-3P had good test-retest reliability, with small and acceptable random measurement error. These two simplified 3-level balance measures can provide reliable results over time.

CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: Our findings support the repeated administration of the BBS-3P and PASS-3P to monitor the balance of patients with stroke. The MDC values can help clinicians and researchers interpret the change scores more precisely.