Citation

Magnani PE, Porto JM, Genovez MB, Zanellato NFG, Alvarenga IC, dos Santos PF, de Abreu DCC. Physiotherapy 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Health Sciences, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy London)

DOI

10.1016/j.physio.2020.03.002

PMID

32349866

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To assess the Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest), Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini-BESTest), Timed Up and Go (TUG) test and gait speed to determine which is the most appropriate test for identification of adults aged ≥80 years at higher risk of falls, and to investigate the clinical usefulness of the combination of such tests by cumulative post-test probability (PoTP) for predicting the risk of falls.

DESIGN: Longitudinal prospective study. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety-eight older adults (aged 80-102 years). INTERVENTIONS: Older adults were submitted to the clinical tests and followed-up in order to record the occurrence of falls. The capacity of the clinical tests to detect which older adults are at higher risk of falls was measured using the receiver operating characteristic curve, followed by calculation of PoTP for predicting the risk of falls.

RESULTS: The BESTest and the Mini-BESTest demonstrated the best PoTP for predicting the risk of falls for a positive test (70%), followed by the TUG test (66%) and gait speed (63%). When performed in combination, a positive result on the TUG test, gait speed and Mini-BESTest increased the probability of older adults falling within the next 6months from 50% to 89%; a negative result on these three tests decreased the probability of older adults falling within the next 6months from 50% to 3%.

CONCLUSION: The combination of TUG test, gait speed and Mini-BESTest provided the best approach. If all three tests are positive, there is an 89% chance of identifying an older person at risk of falling. If all three tests are negative, there would only be a 3% chance of obtaining a false-negative result.

Copyright © 2020 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Aging; Older; Very old