Shamay S. Ng, Hannah H. Ng, Kimmy M. Chan, Julia C. Lai, Ann K. To , Cindy W. Yeung
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong (SAR), China. E-mail: Shamay.Ng@polyu.edu.hk
DOI: 10.2340/16501977-1086

Objective: To investigate: (i) the intra-rater, inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the 12-step stair test; (ii) its correlation with other stroke-specific impairments; and (iii) the cut-off scores that best discriminate patients with stroke from healthy elderly subjects.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Setting: University-based rehabilitation centre.
Subjects: Thirty-five subjects with chronic stroke and 29 healthy elderly subjects.
Methods: The 12-step ascend and descend test was administered along with the Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment for the lower extremities (FMA-LE), hand-held dynamometer measurements of hip abductor and knee extensor muscle strength, the Five Times Sit to Stand Test (FTSTST), assessment using the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), activities-specific balance confidence scale (ABC) assessment, the 10-metre walk test, and the Timed “Up and Go” (TUG) test.
Results: The 12-step ascend and descend test showed excellent intra-rater, inter-rater and test-retest reliability. The test was positively correlated with FTSTST times, gait velocity, and TUG times, and negatively correlated with FMA-LE scores and BBS scores. A test performance of 15. 22 seconds or less was shown reliably to discriminate healthy elderly subjects from stroke survivors.
Conclusion: The 12-step ascend and descend test is a reliable clinical test that is inexpensive and easy to implement, and is useful for assessing the stair-walking ability of patients with chronic stroke.