How many body locations need to be tested when assessing sensation after stroke? An investigation of redundancy in the Rivermead assessment of somato-sensory perception

Tyson, S; Busse, M

Abstract

Objective: Assessing sensation after stroke is time consuming. This study aimed to
identify how many body locations need to be tested to establish whether sensation is
‘intact’, ‘impaired’ or ‘absent’ and to assess validity of that classification.
Design: Participants’ sensation was tested in a single assessment session.
Agreement between the scores for individual anatomical sites and those for the
whole limb was calculated using a weighted kappa and percentage agreement for
each modality. High agreement between tests indicated redundancy, suggesting that
the number of anatomical sites tested could be reduced. The Kruskal–Wallis test
assessed the validity of classification by comparing a range of measures of functional
ability in people with intact, impaired and absent sensation.
Setting: Hospital-based stroke care.
Subjects: One hundred and two patients tested 2–4 weeks after stroke.
Main measures: Four proprioceptive and tactile modalities were measured using the
Rivermead Assessment of Somatosensory Performance.
Results: Agreement between the total limb score and individual anatomical sites was
substantial to excellent for all modalities and anatomical sites. Agreement was
greater than 90% when sensation was intact or absent. The comparison between
patients with intact, impaired and absent sensation showed significant differences in
functional mobility, independence in the activities of daily living, balance and weakness
in people with stroke.
Conclusions: Sensory impairment can be classified as ‘intact’, ‘impaired’ or ‘absent’.
There is a high redundancy between anatomical sites when the patient’s sensation is
‘intact’ or ‘absent’ and not all sites need to be tested. Reducing the number of sites
tested will improve usability of the Rivermead Assessment of Somatosensory
Performance in day-to-day clinical practice.

Citation

Tyson, S., & Busse, M. (2009). How many body locations need to be tested when assessing sensation after stroke? An investigation of redundancy in the Rivermead assessment of somato-sensory perception. Clinical Rehabilitation, 23, 91-95. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269215508097296

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2009
• Deposit Date: Mar 23, 2010
• Journal: Clinical Rehabilitation
• Print ISSN: 0269-2155
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 23
• Pages: 91-95
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0269215508097296
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0269215508097296