OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reliability of the Ashworth Scale and the Disability Assessment Scale (DAS) in poststroke patients with upper-limb spasticity and functional disability. DESIGN: Single-center trial. SETTING:University medical center. PARTICIPANTS: Nine patients > or = 6 months poststroke with upper-limb spasticity and impairment in the areas of hygiene, dressing, limb posture, or pain were included in the analysis. INTERVENTIONS: Ten experienced medical professionals rated each patient in randomized order twice on the same day (results based on mean of evaluations at times 1 and 2). Elbow, wrist, finger, and thumb flexion tones were assessed by using the Ashworth score (range, 0-4), and functional disability was assessed using the DAS (range, 0-3). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intra- and interrater reliability of the Ashworth Scale and DAS. RESULTS: For the Ashworth parameters, 38 of 40 evaluations indicated excellent (weighted kappa > or = .75) or good (weighted kappa > or = .4) intrarater reliability. For DAS parameters, 31 of 40 evaluations indicated excellent or good intrarater reliability. The interrater reliability was also good for both the Ashworth Scale (Kendall W=.598-.792) and DAS (Kendall W=.494-.772) with statistically significant agreement found among raters (all P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with upper-limb spasticity after stroke, the Ashworth Scale and DAS had good intra- and interrater reliability when used by trained medical professions. Copyright 2002 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reliability of the Ashworth Scale and the Disability Assessment Scale (DAS) in poststroke patients with upper-limb spasticity and functional disability. DESIGN: Single-center trial. SETTING: University medical center. PARTICIPANTS: Nine patients > or = 6 months poststroke with upper-limb spasticity and impairment in the areas of hygiene, dressing, limb posture, or pain were included in the analysis. INTERVENTIONS: Ten experienced medical professionals rated each patient in randomized order twice on the same day (results based on mean of evaluations at times 1 and 2). Elbow, wrist, finger, and thumb flexion tones were assessed by using the Ashworth score (range, 0-4), and functional disability was assessed using the DAS (range, 0-3). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intra- and interrater reliability of the Ashworth Scale and DAS. RESULTS: For the Ashworth parameters, 38 of 40 evaluations indicated excellent (weighted kappa > or = .75) or good (weighted kappa > or = .4) intrarater reliability. For DAS parameters, 31 of 40 evaluations indicated excellent or good intrarater reliability. The interrater reliability was also good for both the Ashworth Scale (Kendall W=.598-.792) and DAS (Kendall W=.494-.772) with statistically significant agreement found among raters (all P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with upper-limb spasticity after stroke, the Ashworth Scale and DAS had good intra- and interrater reliability when used by trained medical professions. Copyright 2002 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Authors: J Wissel; M auf dem Brinke; M Hecht; C Herrmann; M Huber; S Mehnert; I Reuter; A Schramm; A Stenner; C van der Ven; M Winterholler; A Kupsch Journal: Nervenarzt Date: 2011-04 Impact factor: 1.214
Authors: Shannon Pike; Anne Cusick; Kylie Wales; Lisa Cameron; Lynne Turner-Stokes; Stephen Ashford; Natasha A Lannin Journal: PLoS One Date: 2021-02-11 Impact factor: 3.240