Reliability, Concurrent Validity, and Minimal Detectable Change of Timed Up and Go Obstacle Test in People With Stroke.

OBJECTIVE

The aims of this study were to investigate the psychometric property of the timed Up and Go Obstacle (TUGO) test in people with stroke.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional design.

SETTING

University based neurorehabilitation laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS

Twenty-eight people with stroke and 30 healthy older adults.

INTERVENTION

Not Applicable.

OUTCOME MEASURES

The TUGO (obstacle heights: 0, 5, 17 cm) test completion times, Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) score, ankle dorsiflexor and plantarflexor muscle strength, Berg Balance Scale (BBS) score, Narrow Corridor Walking Test (NCWT) completion time, timed Up and Go (TUG) test completion time, and Community Integrated Measure.

RESULTS

Excellent inter-rater (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]=0.999-1.000) and test-retest reliabilities (ICC=0.917-0.975) were found for TUGO test completion times for all obstacle heights. The TUGO test completion times for all obstacle heights were significantly correlated with NCWT and TUG test completion times (r=0.817-0.912). Only TUGO test completion times for 0 and 5 cm obstacle heights showed significant correlations with BBS scores (r=-0.518 to -0.534), while the TUGO test completion time for the 17 cm obstacle height correlated significantly with FMA scores. The minimal detectable change and optimal cut-off values for TUGO test completion times for the 0, 5, and 17 cm obstacle heights were 2.54, 3.60, and 3.07 s, and 14.69, 14.76, and 16.10 s, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The TUGO test is a reliable, valid, and easy-to-administer clinical measure to discriminate between people with stroke and healthy older adults.