Relationship between gait profile score and clinical assessments of gait in post-stroke patients.

Abstract

Gait Profile Score (GPS) was validated as quality measure for the Gait Analysis (GA) in several patholgies, but GPS was never compared with clinical scales in post-stroke patients. The aim of the study was to quantify functional limitation of post-stroke hemiparetic patients using clinical-functional scales and GPS and to assess the presence of correlation between GPS and the clinical-based outcome scales. Thirty-three patients were assessed with the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS), Functional Ambulation Category (FAC), Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and Ten-Meter Walk Test (10-MWT); GPS was obtained by GA. GPS showed a fair relationship with FAC (p = 0.017; r = -0.412), TIS (p = 0.011, r = -0.436) and 10-MWT (p = 0.009, r =  0.49) and good correlation with BBS (p = 0.001; r = -0.561). The three regression models were statistically significant: Model 1 showed that FAC, GPS and FIM had a statistically significant effect in the determination of the BBS, in model 2 and 3, FIM presented a statistically significant effect on TIS determination. GPS seems to be an independent linear predictor of balance performance in stroke patient, and GVSs on sagittal plane might help clinicians to investigate the acquired compensatory strategies.