Article

Ambulation impairment is a major component of physical disability in
multiple sclerosis (MS) and a major target of rehabilitation programs. Outcome
measures commonly used to evaluate walking capacities suffer from several
limitations. OBJECTIVES: To define and validate a new test that would overcome
the limitations of current gait evaluations in MS and ultimately better correlate
with the maximum walking distance (MWD). METHODS: The authors developed the Timed
100-Meter Walk Test (T100MW), which was compared with the Timed 25-Foot Walk Test
(T25FW). For the T100MW, the subject is invited to walk 100 m as fast as he/she
can. In MS patients and healthy control volunteers, the authors measured the
test-retest and interrater intraclass correlation coefficient. Spearman rank
correlations were obtained between the T25FW, the T100MW, the Expanded Disability
Status Scale (EDSS), and the MWD. The coefficient of variation, Bland-Altman
plots, the coefficient of determination, and the area under the receiver operator
characteristic curve were measured. The mean walking speed (MWS) was compared
between the 2 tests. RESULTS: A total of 141 MS patients and 104 healthy control
volunteers were assessed. Minor differences favoring the T100MW over the T25FW
were observed. Interestingly, the authors demonstrated a paradoxically higher MWS
on a long (T100MW) rather than on a short distance walk test (T25FW). CONCLUSION:
The T25FW and T100MW displayed subtle differences of reproducibility,
variability, and correlation with MWD favoring the T100MW. The maximum walking
speed of MS patients may be poorly estimated by the T25FW since MS patients were
shown to walk faster over a longer distance.

Langue : ANGLAIS