Article

Managing in the community without accommodation requires that persons
be able to walk an adequate distance. However, little information is available
regarding how walking distance changes over the course of inpatient
rehabilitation. OBJECTIVES: To describe, for inpatients participating in subacute
rehabilitation, the distances walked without stopping at admission and discharge
and to document the reliability and responsiveness of the measure. DESIGN:
Observational longitudinal study. SETTING: Subacute rehabilitation. PATIENTS:
Male and female inpatients of multiple diagnostic groups who were at least 60
years old (n = 130). METHODS: Participants were asked to walk at a self-selected
speed as far as they could without stopping. They walked on a 15.2-m out-and-back
course for a maximum of 2 minutes upon admission, the next day, and at discharge.
RESULTS: The mean distances walked upon admission, the next day, and at discharge
were 35.6, 39.9, and 77.0 m, respectively. Good test-retest reliability was
demonstrated for the distances walked upon admission and the next day (intraclass
correlation coefficient = 0.948). The distance walked increased significantly
between admission and discharge (t = 22.22, P < .001). The effect size and
standardized response mean for these distances were large-2.36 and 1.95,
respectively. The minimum detectable change was 11.1 m. The minimal clinically
important difference determined by receiver operator characteristic curve
analysis ranged from 28.8 m to 43.6 m depending on the anchor used. The
associated areas under the curve ranged from 0.700-0.897. CONCLUSIONS: Based on
our findings, we conclude that distance walked without stopping is an
informative, reliable, and responsive measure of gait performance for patients
undergoing subacute rehabilitation. We therefore encourage the systematic
documentation of distance walked among inpatients undergoing subacute
rehabilitation.
CI - Copyright (c) 2015 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS