The agreement between face-to-face and tele-assessment of balance tests in patients with multiple sclerosis

To investigate the reliability of balance tests administered using a tele-assessment method in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

The participants were assessed both online and face-to-face. The assessments were performed synchronously by two physiotherapists. The first method to used to evaluate the participants was determined through randomization. The Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Dynamic Gait Index (DGI), and Timed Up and Go (TUG) were used in the evaluations. Three days were left between the assessment methods. Online platforms were used for tele-assessment. The agreement between and correlation of face-to-face and tele-assessments was analyzed by applying intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC), limits of agreement, and Pearson's correlation coefficient.

This study included 39 individuals with MS with an EDSS score of 3.03 ± 1.41. Intra-rater reliability of the tele-assessment was excellent (ICC_BBS = 0.96; ICC_DGI = 0.97; ICC_TUG = 0.97). Very high correlations were observed in all BBS, DGI, and TUG measurements between face-to-face and tele-assessment methods according to the first and second assessors (r_BBS1 = 0.92; r_BBS2 = 0.93; r_DGI1 = 0.94; r_DGI2 = 0.95; r_TUG1 = 0.94; r_TUG2 = 0.95, respectively). The inter-rater reliability of tele-assessments (ICC_BBS = 0.97; ICC_DGI = 0.97; ICC_TUG = 1.00) achieved excellent reliability.

BBS, DGI, and TUG are reliable and agreed tests that can be used with tele-assessments, offering similar data to face-to-face methods.