Pittsburgh Impairment Testing Tool for Spina Bifida Can Predict Ambulation and Transfer Ability in Adults With Spina Bifida.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive accuracy of the Pittsburgh Impairment Testing Tool. It was hypothesized that the Pittsburgh Impairment Testing Tool would have a good overall accuracy (≥80%) for predicting both ambulation and transfer ability and that overall accuracy of the Pittsburgh Impairment Testing Tool would be higher than that of other scales. A retrospective chart review was used to classify 409 adults with spina bifida according to seven neurological scales. A Naïve Bayes classifier was used to obtain accuracy estimates for predicting both ambulation and transfer ability as a function of each scale. The Pittsburgh Impairment Testing Tool was the only scale demonstrating >80% overall accuracy for predicting both ambulation and transfer ability. While several scales demonstrated ≥80% overall accuracy in predicting transfer ability, none were useful in predicting inability to transfer. Inability to transfer was difficult for all tools to predict. The Pittsburgh Impairment Testing Tool demonstrated good overall accuracy for predicting both ambulation and transfer ability. Sensory and anatomic levels were less useful than motor level in predicting functional ability.