Test-retest reproducibility of two short-form balance measures used in individuals with stroke

The aim of this study is to determine the test-retest reproducibility of the seven-item Short-Form Berg Balance Scale (SFBBS) and the five-item Short-Form Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients (SFPASS) in individuals with chronic stroke. Fifty-two chronic stroke patients from two rehabilitation departments were included in the study. Both balance measures were administered twice 7 days apart. Test-retest reliability was analysed using the weighted κ (κ(w)) statistic for each item and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC(2,1)) for the total scores of both measures. Agreement was expressed as the SEM, minimal detectable change and limits of agreement by Bland and Altman analysis. Test-retest agreements were good to very good for SFBBS and SFPASS, with weighted κ values ranging from 0.75 to 0.89 and 0.66 to 0.84, respectively. The ICCs for the total SFBBS and SFPASS scores were excellent (ICC(2,1): SFBBS=0.99; SFPASS=0.93). The SEMs for both measures were less than 10% of the score range; the minimal detectable changes of the SFBBS and SFPASS were 2.83 and 2.16, respectively, indicating that both measures had a small and acceptable measurement error. Both measures showed good reproducibility. These results indicate that the SFBBS and SFPASS are useful for clinicians and researchers for the evaluation of balance performance and to determine whether the change score of an individual with stroke is real.