Walking ability after stroke in patients from Argentina: predictive values of two tests in subjects with subacute hemiplegia.

Abstract

[Purpose] This study aimed to determine the predictive values of the trunk control test (TCT) and functional ambulation category (FAC) for independent walking up to 6 months post stroke. [Subjects] Twenty-seven subjects with hemiplegia secondary to a unilateral hemisphere stroke were included. [Methods] The protocol was started at 45 days post stroke, with the TCT and FAC as walking predictors. At 90, 120, and 180 days post stroke, the subjects’ independent walking ability was assessed by using the Wald test. [Results] The TCT was identified as an independent predictor of ambulation at 90, 120, and 180 days. Subjects who scored ≥ 49 in the initial test had 93.8% probability of achieving independent gait at 6 months. The FAC proved that 100% of the subjects who scored 2 at 45 days post stroke walked independently at 90 days, 100% of the subjects who scored 1 walked independently at 120 days, and only 33.3% of the subjects who scored 0 walked independently at 180 days. [Conclusion] The TCT and FAC can predict independent walking at 45 days post stroke. In subjects with FAC 0, the TCT should be used to predict patients who will be able to walk independently.