PLoS ONE (Jan 2016)

Intra-Rater, Inter-Rater and Test-Retest Reliability of an Instrumented Timed Up and Go (iTUG) Test in Patients with Parkinson's Disease.

  • Rob C van Lummel,
  • Stefan Walgaard,
  • Markus A Hobert,
  • Walter Maetzler,
  • Jaap H van Dieën,
  • Francisca Galindo-Garre,
  • Caroline B Terwee

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0151881
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 3
p. e0151881

Abstract

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BackgroundThe "Timed Up and Go" (TUG) is a widely used measure of physical functioning in older people and in neurological populations, including Parkinson's Disease. When using an inertial sensor measurement system (instrumented TUG [iTUG]), the individual components of the iTUG and the trunk kinematics can be measured separately, which may provide relevant additional information.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine intra-rater, inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the iTUG in patients with Parkinson's Disease.MethodsTwenty eight PD patients, aged 50 years or older, were included. For the iTUG the DynaPort Hybrid (McRoberts, The Hague, The Netherlands) was worn at the lower back. The device measured acceleration and angular velocity in three directions at a rate of 100 samples/s. Patients performed the iTUG five times on two consecutive days. Repeated measurements by the same rater on the same day were used to calculate intra-rater reliability. Repeated measurements by different raters on the same day were used to calculate intra-rater and inter-rater reliability. Repeated measurements by the same rater on different days were used to calculate test-retest reliability.ResultsNineteen ICC values (15%) were ≥ 0.9 which is considered as excellent reliability. Sixty four ICC values (49%) were ≥ 0.70 and ConclusionsIn conclusion, in patients with Parkinson's disease the intra-rater, inter-rater, and test-retest reliability of the individual components of the instrumented TUG (iTUG) was excellent to good for total duration and for turning durations, and good to low for the sub durations and for the kinematics of the SiSt and StSi. The results of this fully automated analysis of instrumented TUG movements demonstrate that several reliable TUG parameters can be identified that provide a basis for a more precise, quantitative use of the TUG test, in clinical practice.