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Usefulness of the trunk impairment scale in predicting fall risk in people with parkinson's disease
Taskin Ozkan1, Fatih Soke2, Nigar Esra Erkoc Ataoglu3
1Vocational School of Health Services, Therapy and Rehabilitation, Giresun University, Giresun, 28200, Turkey. fzttaskinozkan@hotmail.com.
Introduction:
It is important to identify the determinants of fall risk in people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD), as they can play a critical role in planning appropriate treatment and interventions. The aim of this study was to discriminate the risk of falling in PwPD using the Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS).
Methods:
This cross-sectional study included 181 PwPD. There were 95 patients in the faller group and 86 in the non-faller group among the study participants. Trunk control was evaluated using TIS, and fall history was documented by interviews.
Results:
The mean ages of PwPD with and without a history of falls in the past year were 66.03 ± 7.47 and 64.65 ± 8.87, respectively. The median (IQR) values of the TIS of the faller group was 17.00 (14.00-19.00) while 20.00 (19.75-22.00) in non-faller group. For PwPD, the TIS cut-off value for fall risk was found to be 19.50 points.
Conclusions:
Predicting the risk of falls in PwPD, a disease group in which falls are common and have devastating effects on patients, is very important for the success of rehabilitation practices, patient follow-up and patient safety. These results show that the TIS is a reliable and simple scale that can be used to identify patients at risk of falls for assesing trunk control in PwPD.
