Dataset Information

Usefulness of the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) in Ataxic Stroke Patients.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To examine the usefulness of the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) in ataxic stroke patients.

Method

This was a retrospective study of 54 patients following their first ataxic stroke. The data used in the analysis comprised ambulation status on admission and scores on the SARA, the Korean version of the Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI) and the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). The subjects were divided into four groups by gait status and into five groups by level of dependency in activities of daily living (ADLs) based on their K-MBI scores. Data were subjected to a ROC curve analysis to obtain cutoff values on the SARA for individual gait status and levels of activity dependency. The correlations between the SARA, K-MBI and BBS scores were also computed.

Results

There was significant correlation between the SARA and the K-MBI scores (p<0.001), and this correlation (r=-0.792) was higher than that found between the BBS and the K-MBI scores (r=0.710). The SARA scores of upper extremity ataxia categories were significantly related to the K-MBI scores of upper extremity related function (p<0.001). The SARA scores were also significantly correlated negatively with ambulation status (p<0.001) and positively with ADL dependency (p<0.001). In the ROC analysis, patients with less than 5.5 points on the SARA had minimal dependency in ADL, while those with more than 23 points showed total dependency.

Conclusion

SARA corresponds well with gait status and ADL dependency in ataxic stroke patients and is considered to be a useful functional measure in that patient group.

SUBMITTER: Kim BR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3309386 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Usefulness of the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) in Ataxic Stroke Patients.

Kim Bo-Ram BR Lim Jeong-Hoon JH Lee Seung Ah SA Park Seunglee S Koh Seong-Eun SE Lee In-Sik IS Jung Heeyoune H Lee Jongmin J

Annals of rehabilitation medicine 20111230 6

<h4>Objective</h4>To examine the usefulness of the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) in ataxic stroke patients.<h4>Method</h4>This was a retrospective study of 54 patients following their first ataxic stroke. The data used in the analysis comprised ambulation status on admission and scores on the SARA, the Korean version of the Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI) and the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). The subjects were divided into four groups by gait status and into five groups by leve ...[more]

PMID: 22506205

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Project description:Post stroke dysphagia (PSD) is common and associated with poor outcome. The Dysphagia Severity Rating Scale (DSRS), which grades how severe dysphagia is based on fluid and diet modification and supervision requirements for feeding, is used for clinical research but has limited published validation information. Multiple approaches were taken to validate the DSRS, including concurrent- and predictive criterion validity, internal consistency, inter- and intra-rater reliability and sensitivity to change. This was done using data from four studies involving pharyngeal electrical stimulation in acute stroke patients with dysphagia, an individual patient data meta-analysis and unpublished studies (NCT03499574, NCT03700853). In addition, consensual- and content validity and the Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) were assessed using anonymous surveys sent to UK-based Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs). Scores for consensual validity were mostly moderate (62.5-78%) to high or excellent (89-100%) for most scenarios. All but two assessments of content validity were excellent. In concurrent criterion validity assessments, DSRS was most closely associated with measures of radiological aspiration (penetration aspiration scale, Spearman rank rs?=?0.49, p?<?0.001) and swallowing (functional oral intake scale, FOIS, rs?=?-0.96, p?<?0.001); weaker but statistically significant associations were seen with impairment, disability and dependency. A similar pattern of relationships was seen for predictive criterion validity. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was either "good" or "excellent". Intra and inter-rater reliability were largely "excellent" (intraclass correlation >0.90). DSRS was sensitive to positive change during recovery (medians: 7, 4 and 1 at baseline and 2 and 13 weeks respectively) and in response to an intervention, pharyngeal electrical stimulation, in a published meta-analysis. The MCID was 1.0 and DSRS and FOIS scores may be estimated from each other. The DSRS appears to be a valid tool for grading the severity of swallowing impairment in patients with post stroke dysphagia and is appropriate for use in clinical research and clinical service delivery.

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Dataset Information

Usefulness of the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) in Ataxic Stroke Patients.

Objective

Method

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Usefulness of the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) in Ataxic Stroke Patients.

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