The minimal important difference for the Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients in the subacute stage.

BACKGROUND: The minimal important difference (MID) of the Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients (PASS) remains unknown, limiting the interpretation of change scores. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the MID of the PASS in patients with subacute stroke. METHODS: Data at admission and discharge for 240 participants were retrieved from a longitudinal study. The "mobility" item of the Barthel Index was used as the anchor for indicating the improvement of posture control. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) method was used to estimate the anchor-based MID of the PASS. RESULTS: The ROC method identified a MID of 3.0 points, with a sensitivity of 81.0 % and a specificity of 75.6 %. CONCLUSION: The MID of the PASS was 3.0 points, indicating that if a patient achieves an improvement of 3.0 or more points on the PASS, they have a clinically important improvement in posture control. Our results can help in interpreting change scores and aid in understanding the clinical values of treatment outcomes.

Test-Retest Reliability and Responsiveness of the Computerized Adaptive Test of Social Functioning in Persons With Stroke.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the test-retest reliability, minimal detectable change (MDC), responsiveness, and efficiency of the Computerized Adaptive Test of Social Functioning (Social-CAT) in patients with stroke. DESIGN: Repeated-assessments design. SETTING: A department of rehabilitation of a medical center. PARTICIPANTS: In total, 31 patients with chronic stroke and 65 patients with subacute stroke were recruited. INTERVENTION: Not available. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Social-CAT. RESULTS: The Social-CAT showed acceptable test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.80) and small random measurement error (MDC%: 18.0%). However, heteroscedasticity was found (r between the means and the absolute change scores: 0.32), so the MDC% adjusted cut-off score is recommended for determining real improvement. Regarding responsiveness, the Social-CAT showed large differences (Kazis' effect size and standardized mean response: 1.15 and 1.09, respectively) in subacute patients. Regarding efficiency, the Social-CAT required an average of 5 items and less than 2 minutes for completion. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that the Social-CAT is a reliable and efficient measure with good test-retest reliability, small random measurement error, and good responsiveness. Thus, the Social-CAT is a useful outcome measure for routine monitoring of the changes in social function of patients with stroke.