The Functional Dexterity Test in Adult Populations: An Exploration of a Simplified Test Protocol and Parameters Guided by Statistical Outcomes.

The participants were healthy, uninjured adults, so the results do not show how the revised FDT protocol performs in patients with hand injury, arthritis, or neurologic conditions. The study was cross-sectional, so the age-related decline was seen by comparing different people at different ages, not by following the same people over time. The altered protocol was not tested for intrarater or interrater reliability, and the authors say reliability with this method was not tested. Three different raters administered the test, and the authors note that variations in procedure could have occurred. The sample was unevenly sexed, with 101 females and 47 males, which may affect the finding that males were faster. Only eight participants were left-hand dominant, a smaller share than expected in the population, so hand dominance findings may not generalize well. The regression model was not recommended for predicting an individual’s speed. One subject was removed for incorrect speed recording, and incomplete data sets were removed before analysis.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The article is listed as supported by NIH extramural research.

Do not adopt the revised FDT speed protocol or the contralateral hand adjustment as a validated clinical standard. The authors say these altered administration and parameter innovations are not yet recommended for standardized universal use, and they do not recommend the regression model for predicting an individual’s speed.