Reliability, Concurrent Validity, and Minimal Detectable Change of Timed Up and Go Obstacle Test in People With Stroke

Objective: The aims of this study were to investigate the psychometric property of the timed Up and Go Obstacle (TUGO) test in people with stroke.Design: Cross-sectional design.Setting: University based neurorehabilitation laboratory.Participants: Twenty-eight people with stroke and 30 healthy older adults.Intervention: Not Applicable.Outcome Measures: The TUGO (obstacle heights: 0, 5, 17 cm) test completion times, Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) score, ankle dorsiflexor and plantarflexor muscle strength, Berg Balance Scale (BBS) score, Narrow Corridor Walking Test (NCWT) completion time, timed Up and Go (TUG) test completion time, and Community Integrated Measure.Results: Excellent inter-rater (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]=0.999-1.000) and test-retest reliabilities (ICC=0.917-0.975) were found for TUGO test completion times for all obstacle heights. The TUGO test completion times for all obstacle heights were significantly correlated with NCWT and TUG test completion times (r=0.817-0.912). Only TUGO test completion times for 0 and 5 cm obstacle heights showed significant correlations with BBS scores (r=-0.518 to-0.534), while the TUGO test completion time for the 17 cm obstacle height correlated significantly with FMA scores. The minimal detectable change and optimal cut-off values for TUGO test completion times for the 0, 5, and 17 cm obstacle heights were 2.54, 3.60, and 3.07 s, and 14.69, 14.76, and 16.10 s, respectively. Conclusion: The TUGO test is a reliable, valid, and easy-to-administer clinical measure to discriminate between people with stroke and healthy older adults.Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2023;104:1465-73 & COPY; 2023 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.