Expanded timed up and go test with subjects with stroke: reliability and comparisons with matched healthy controls

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the intra- and interrater reliabilities of the Expanded Timed Up and Go (ETUG) test with subjects with stroke and to compare the ETUG scores between subjects with stroke and healthy control subjects.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Research laboratory.

Participants: Stroke participants (n=48; mean age ± SD, 59.29±15.84y) and healthy controls (n=48), matched by age, sex, and levels of physical activity.

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main outcome measures: The time spent to complete the ETUG in absolute (s) and ratio values regarding the percentages of the total time. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), Student t tests, and 95% confidence intervals were employed to investigate the reliability and differences between the groups (α<.05).

Results: Both intra- and interrater reliabilities showed significant and excellent results for both groups for the absolute values (0.86≤ICC≤1.00; P<.001) and ratio values (0.55≤ICC≤0.99; P<.001). The mean time, in seconds, for all of the ETUG activities was higher for the subjects with stroke than for the control subjects (3.15≤t≤5.78; P<.001). However, when the comparisons considered the ratio values, no significant differences between the groups were found (0.45≤t≤1.15; 0.25≤P≤0.65). These results were confirmed by the 95% confidence interval.

Conclusions: Subjects with stroke spent more time in all of the ETUG activities when compared with control subjects. All of the activities appeared to contribute similarly to the poorer performances observed in subjects with stroke, because the ratio values were similar between the groups. Considering the positive intra- and interrater reliability results, the ETUG could be applied to assess the functional mobility of both groups.