Clinical validity of the quantitative gait variables in patients with multiple sclerosis. A comparison of the Timed 25-foot Walk Test and the GAITRite® Electronic Walkway system

Introduction. Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory and degenerative disease in which gait alteration is one of the first symptoms. Its quantitative evaluation is often made by the Timed 25-foot Walk Test (T25FW), although it's limited to know only the distance, the time employed and number of steps. Aim. To compare the T25FW with the results from the GAITRite (R) Electronic Walkway system (GEW), to know if there is some variability between them. Patients and methods. The sample consisted in 85 subjects with multiple sclerosis and able to walking, with or without aids (EDSS: 1.0-6.5). Four walkings were made along the 8 m-length carpet from GEW system, while a different evaluator measured the time employed with a chronometer, and the number of steps in a 25 feet distance marked side by side in the carpet. Velocity was calculated in function of distance and time employed. A mean from the four walkings was made and both of the measures were correlated with SPSS v. 18, considering a results of p < 0.001, statistically significant. Results. Time employed (p = 1.000), velocity (p = 0.9995), cadence (p = 0.3296) and number of steps (p = 1.000) were not statistically different. Conclusions. GEW system has the same clinical validity in gait evaluation in multiple sclerosis patients than the T25FW.