Evaluation of the Wisconsin Gait Scale in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis and Spastic Hemiplegia

BACKGROUND Existing clinical tools do not comprehensively assess gait patterns in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) across all planes or account for spatiotemporal and kinematic parameters. This study investigated the feasibility of the Wisconsin Gait Scale (WGS), originally designed to evaluate hemiparetic gait after stroke, in individuals with the spastic hemiplegic subtype of MS. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study included 30 patients with the spastic hemiplegic subtype of MS. The WGS-based assessment of participants' gait was performed twice, by 3 independent raters. The results of the 2 measurements reported by the 3 raters were compared to determine intra-rater and inter-rater reliability. The WGS scores were also compared with results of clinical tools: the 10-Meter Walk Test, the 2-Minute Walk Test, and the Timed Up and Go Test, to determine the concurrent criterion validity of the WGS. RESULTS A comparison of the scores assigned by the same rater during measurement 1 and measurement 2 showed excellent agreement in each case, with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) equal to or higher than 0.991. Likewise, there was excellent agreement between the scores awarded by the 3 raters, both in measurement 1 and measurement 2, with ICCs of 0.988 and 0.978, respectively. The analyses showed very strong and significant correlations (P<0.001) between the mean scores in the WGS and all the clinical tests applied in this study to assess gait. CONCLUSIONS The findings show excellent intra-rater and inter-rater reliability and confirm the concurrent criterion validity of the WGS in patients with hemiplegic MS.