Study of the Responsiveness and Minimal Clinically Important Difference of the Trunk Impairment Scale in Patients With Acute Stroke

Masahiro Ishiwatari; Tsuyoshi Takahara; Masato Hayakawa; Akihiro Ogawa; Satoshi Kido

doi:10.1177/27536351231211718

Study of the Responsiveness and Minimal Clinically Important Difference of the Trunk Impairment Scale in Patients With Acute Stroke

Adv Rehabil Sci Pract. 2023 Nov 20:12:27536351231211718. doi: 10.1177/27536351231211718. eCollection 2023 Jan-Dec.

Authors

Masahiro Ishiwatari^{1

2}, Tsuyoshi Takahara¹, Masato Hayakawa³, Akihiro Ogawa^{2

4}, Satoshi Kido²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Rehabilitation, Kiminomori Rehabilitation Hospital, Chiba, Japan.
² Graduate Course of Health and Social Services, Saitama Prefectural University, Saitama, Japan.
³ Department of Rehabilitation, Shioda Hospital, Chiba, Japan.
⁴ Department of Rehabilitation, Sakura Medical Center, Toho University Hospital, Chiba, Japan.

Abstract

Background: Trunk function is a prerequisite for functional activity; thus, it is crucial to carry out proper assessments and interventions. However, there is no clear indicator for trunk function evaluation in patients with stroke. To understand the effects of interventions over time, it is important to adopt responsive clinical indicators.

Purpose: To examine the Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS) (Fujiwara version) in terms of responsiveness and the minimal clinically important difference (MCID).

Methods: In total, 55 patients who experienced an acute stroke were evaluated on the seventh day of hospitalization and the day before discharge. The responsiveness of the TIS was assessed by the effect size and standardized response mean (SRM). Additionally, an MCID study was conducted to examine the amount of change in TIS scores required to indicate a clinically meaningful change, which was determined by the presence or absence of improvement in the activities of daily living.

Results: The SRM of the TIS was 1.42. Additionally, the MCID was determined to be 3 points.

Conclusion: The TIS score improved over time and a 3-point improvement in the TIS score was associated with improvement in the activities of daily living. Thus, this scale's clinical sensitivity and MCID have been established in patients with stroke.

Keywords: Acute stroke; MCID; TIS; rehabilitation; responsiveness; trunk function.