PTJ
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

PHYS THER
Vol. 88, No. 3, March 2008, pp. 323-332
DOI: 10.2522/ptj.20070082
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow The Bottom Line
Right arrow The Bottom Line Podcast
Right arrow Discussion Podcast
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
ptj.20070082v1
88/3/323    most recent
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Read responses to this article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Rapid Responses are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Dibble, L. E
Right arrow Articles by Foreman, K B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Dibble, L. E
Right arrow Articles by Foreman, K B.

Research Reports

Diagnosis of Fall Risk in Parkinson Disease: An Analysis of Individual and Collective Clinical Balance Test Interpretation

Leland E Dibble, Jesse Christensen, D James Ballard and K Bo Foreman

LE Dibble, PT, PhD, ATC, is Associate Professor (Clinical), Department of Physical Therapy, University of Utah, 520 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108 (USA)
J Christensen, PT, DPT, is Physical Therapist–Sports Medicine Resident, Howard Head Sports Medicine Center, Vail, Colo
DJ Ballard, PT, DPT, is Instructor (Clinical), Division of Physical Therapy, University of Utah
KB Foreman, PT, PhD, is Associate Professor, Division of Physical Therapy and Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Utah

Address all correspondence to Dr Dibble at: lee.dibble{at}hsc.utah.edu

Background and Purpose: Parkinson disease (PD) results in an increased frequency of falls relative to the frequency in neurologically healthy people. The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of PD fall risk diagnosis based on one test with that based on the collective interpretation of multiple tests.

Participants: Seventy people with PD (mean age=73.91 years) participated in this study.

Method: Clinical balance tests were conducted during the initial examinations of people with PD. Validity indices were calculated for individual tests and compared with validity indices calculated for a combination of multiple tests.

Results: Thirty-six participants reported a fall history. Analysis of individual tests revealed broad variations in validity indices, whereas the collective interpretation of multiple tests improved sensitivity and negative likelihood ratios.

Discussion and Conclusion: Collective interpretation of clinical balance tests resulted in fewer false-negative results and more substantial adjustments to the posttest probability of being a "faller" than the interpretation of one test alone. These results should be confirmed in a prospective examination of fall risk in PD.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 ptjournalHome page
B. J Norton
On "Diagnosis of fall risk in Parkinson disease..." Dibble et al. Phys Ther. 2008;88:323-332.
Physical Therapy, May 1, 2008; 88(5): 679 - 679.
[Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2008 by the American Physical Therapy Association.