Background: This study tried to develop an Asian Stroke Disability Scale (ASDS) and compared its interrater reliability with modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and Barthel Index (BI).
Methods: Three items including self-care, mobility, and daily activities were selected as variables for development of the ASDS. The variables were provisionally graded on a 2- to 4-point scale based on the importance of each item. Each of the variables was categorized into 3 categories. Afterward, 125 rater-patient assessments for each scale (mRS, BI, and ASDS) were performed on 25 stroke patients by 5 raters. For categorization of functional impairment as minor or major, the scores of mRS, BI and ASDS were categorized as ≤ 2 and > 2, < 90 and ≥ 90, and < 3 and ≥ 3, respectively.125 rater-patient assessments for each of the mRS, BI, and ASDS were performed on 25 stroke patients by five raters.
Results: The quantitative variability of BI, mRS, and ASDS scores was not significant (P = 0.379; P = 0.780; and P = 0.835, respectively). Interrater variability of mRS, BI, and ASDS scores based on qualitative categorization was not significant (P = 1.000; P = 0.978; and P = 0.901, respectively). Paired interrater variability of mRS, BI, and ASDS scores based on qualitative categorization was not significant (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: The ASDS is easy to use, requires less than 1 minute to complete and is as valid as mRS and BI in assessment of functional impairment of patients with stroke.
Keywords: Disability; Scale; Stroke; Validation.