Article

The upper-extremity portion of the Fugl-Meyer Scale (UE-FM) is one of
the most established and commonly used outcome measures in stroke rehabilitative
trials. Empirical work is needed to determine the amount of change in UE-FM
scores that can be regarded as important and clinically meaningful for health
professionals, patients, and other stakeholders. OBJECTIVE: This study used
anchor-based methods to estimate the clinically important difference (CID) for
the UE-FM in people with minimal to moderate impairment due to chronic stroke.
METHOD: One hundred forty-six individuals with stable, mild to moderate
upper-extremity (UE) hemiparesis were administered the UE-FM before and after an
intervention targeting their affected UEs. The treating therapists rated each
participant's perceived amount of UE motor recovery on a global rating of change
(GROC) scale evaluating several facets of UE movement (grasp, release, move the
affected UE, perform 5 important functional tasks with the affected UE, overall
UE function). Estimated CID of the UE-FM scores was calculated using receiver
operating characteristic (ROC) curve with the GROC scores as the anchor. RESULTS:
The ROC curve analysis revealed that change in UE-FM scores during the
intervention period distinguished participants who experienced clinically
important improvement from those that did not based on the therapists' GROC
scores. The area under the curve ranged from 0.61 to 0.70 for the different
facets of UE movement. CONCLUSIONS: The estimated CID of the UE-FM scores ranged
from 4.25 to 7.25 points, depending on the different facets of UE movement.

Langue : ANGLAIS