| dc.description.abstract | Abstract: Stroke is a major risk factors for
falls. However, there are no established
practices being used to predict fall risk with
Stroke patients in Sri Lankan stroke care
settings. The purpose of this study is to
determine the usefulness of Timed Up and Go
test (TUG), Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Six
Minute Walk Test (6MWT) as fall risk
predictors in post stroke individuals and to
introduce cut off values to predict fall risk. 74
patients with first ever stroke during past
year (mean age 56.5± 28.5, males 67.6%)
recruited from the Physiotherapy Unit,
Rehabilitation Hospital, Ragama; 17 (23%)
had history of falls. History of falls was
recorded from participants’ interview. Each
participant underwent TUG, BBS and 6MWT.
Scores were compared with existing cut off
values. Receiver Operating Characteristic
(ROC) curves were constructed to describe
sensitivity, specificity and predictive values.
Optimum cut off values for fall risk prediction
were determined. There is no significant
difference in the baseline characteristics
between the two groups. The cut off values
for fall prediction of three tests were
recognized as follows; TUG ≥ 23s, p = 0.044,
AUC = 0.662; BBS <45, p = 0.001, AUC =
0.773; 6MWT <193 meters, p =0.020, AUC =
0.686. The BBS performed better than TUG
and 6MWT in predicting fall risk in stroke
individuals. We recommend the use of
physical performance tests as TUG test, BBS
and 6MWT to predict fall risk and to
minimize risk of falling in stroke individuals
in Sri Lanka. | en_US |
