2020 Volume 47 Issue 3 Pages 215-223
Purpose: We aimed to investigate whether the Mini-Balance Evaluation Test (Mini-BESTest) can be applied to assess walking impairment severity in individuals with spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD) and to compare the difference in walking impairment severity assessed using Mini-BESTest and Berg Balance Scale (BBS).
Methods: Thirty individuals with SCD participated in the study and were divided into three groups according to the SCD severity classification. They were assessed using Mini-BESTest, BBS, and Functional Independence Measure (FIM). The total scores and distribution of scores from Mini-BESTest and BBS were compared among the three groups. In addition, a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) plot was used to compare the overall accuracy in assessing walking severity using Mini-BESTest and BBS and to determine appropriate cutoff scores for identifying whether an individual can walk independently.
Results: The total Mini-BESTest and BBS scores showed significant differences among the three groups. Both scores decreased with an increase in walking impairment severity. Mini-BESTest and BBS had high area under the curve and sensitivity and specificity. A ceiling effect and deviation in bias in the distribution were identified only on BBS.
Conclusion: Mini-BESTest had a higher accuracy and sensitivity than the BBS was thus considered useful for assessing properties that identify individuals with SCD who can walk independently.
