Comparison of measurement properties of three shortened versions of the balance evaluation system test (BESTest) in people with subacute stroke.
Thitimard Winairuk, Marco Y C Pang, Vitoon Saengsirisuwan and 2 others
PMID 31448806WHAT IT FOUND
In subacute stroke, the 13-item S-BESTest was reliable, agreed closely with the Berg Balance Scale, detected improvement, and avoided many patients scoring the minimum seen with Brief and Mini-BESTest.
It is a practical short option when time is limited.
Key findings
01The S-BESTest, Brief-BESTest and Mini-BESTest were reliable and scored similarly to the Berg Balance Scale.
02At baseline, the S-BESTest did not show the minimum-score problem seen with the Brief-BESTest and Mini-BESTest.
03The S-BESTest and original BESTest were more accurate than the Brief-BESTest and Mini-BESTest at identifying patients whose balance improved.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The reliability sample was only 12 patients. The shortened test scores were extracted from the full BESTest rather than administered independently, so routine clinical scoring may differ. The study was done at a single hospital in Thailand, so results may not apply to other settings. The full assessment took about 1.5 hours, which may cause fatigue and affect performance. The S-BESTest was developed for patients who could stand independently for at least 3 seconds, so it may not suit patients who cannot stand. Responsiveness was followed only for 4 weeks, so later recovery was not assessed.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the S-BESTest improves balance or is the best test for every stroke setting. It was tested only as a measurement tool in subacute stroke, and the shortened scores were extracted from the full BESTest rather than administered independently.