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Quantitative Static and Dynamic Assessment of Balance Control in Stroke Patients
Published on: May 17, 2020
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Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients in Acute, Subacute and Chronic Stage: A Construct Validity Study
Cecilia Estrada-Barranco1, Roberto Cano-de-la-Cuerda2, Vanesa Abuín-Porras1
1Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Villaviciosa de Odón, 28670 Madrid, Spain.
Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)
|March 6, 2021
Summary
The Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients (PASS) is a valid tool for assessing balance in stroke survivors, particularly in subacute and chronic recovery phases. This study confirms its reliability across different stages of stroke recovery.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Postural control and balance assessment are crucial in stroke rehabilitation.
- Observational scales are widely used to evaluate balance in stroke patients.
- The Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients (PASS) is a common tool, but its construct validity across different stroke phases requires thorough analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the construct validity of the Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients (PASS) in post-stroke individuals.
- To evaluate the PASS scale's effectiveness in acute, subacute, and chronic stroke phases.
- To determine the reliability of the PASS scale in assessing balance deficits following stroke.
Main Methods:
- Sixty-one post-stroke participants were enrolled in the study.
- Construct validity of the PASS was assessed using correlation analyses with established scales: Functional Ambulatory Category (FAC), Wisconsin Gait Scale (WGS), Barthel Index (BI), and Functional Independence Measure (FIM).
- Data were analyzed across acute, subacute, and chronic stroke phases (6 and 12 months post-stroke).
Main Results:
- The PASS demonstrated moderate to excellent construct validity in the acute phase, with correlations ranging from r = -0.791 (FAC) to r = 0.801 (BI).
- Excellent construct validity was observed in the subacute phase (r = -0.810 to r = 0.897) and at 6 and 12 months post-stroke (r values consistently high across all compared scales).
- The PASS scale showed strong correlations with FAC, WGS, BI, and FIM, indicating its robustness in measuring balance.
Conclusions:
- The Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients (PASS) is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing balance in individuals post-stroke.
- The scale is particularly effective and recommended for use in the subacute and chronic phases of stroke recovery (6 and 12 months).
- The findings support the continued use of the PASS scale in clinical practice and research for evaluating postural control in stroke survivors.
