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Important properties have been studied using the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) in patients with stroke. However, whether the ARAT subtests constitute a Guttman scale (i.e., items hierarchically ordered according to difficulty) remains unclear. Guttman scales can define decision rules for skipping items in patients with low endurance. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the ARAT when applying decision rules for post-stroke hemiparetic patients. A retrospective, single-institution study was conducted between 2020 and 2021. Datasets of 30 patients with stroke-induced hemiparesis were collected from a previous study which employed the ARAT without decision rules, Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA), Box and Block Test (BBT), and Motor Activity Log (MAL). The ARAT was rescored with decision rules for this study, and inter-rater reliability/agreement, parallel forms reliability, and construct validity were assessed. Parallel forms reliability (Spearman's rho) was 0.99 (95% CI, 0.99–0.99) for both raters. The lower 95% CI limits of the sum and individual item scores in the reliability analysis exceeded the planned value (0.8). Construct validity values exceeded the planned value (0.8) for FMA, BBT, and MAL. Decision rules can be used to skip ARAT items when assessing upper extremity motor function in stroke patients. The Action Research Arm Test with decision rules for skipping items was valid and reliable for measuring upper extremity motor function in hemiparetic patients after stroke. The decision rules may reduce the burden of both patients and evaluators by decreasing the number of Action Research Arm Test items to be administrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) has been extensively used for patients with stroke in many countries. However, the ARAT has been reported to have ceiling effects. Employing a time evaluation system could be expected to improve the ceiling effects in the ARAT. Objective: To investigate (1) the psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the ARAT in patients with stroke; (2) the psychometric properties of the performance timescale of the ARAT in patients with stroke. Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional, single-center study involving 30 patients with mild-to-severe hemiparesis was conducted. All patients were recruited from the college hospital in Japan from June 2016 to March 2017. The ARAT and the Fugl-Meyer Assessment, the Box-and-Block Test, and the Motor Activity Log were employed. The simultaneous/non-simultaneous inter-rater reliability/agreement, the internal consistency, the validity, and the floor/ceiling effects were assessed. Results: Regarding the ARAT score, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) ranged from 0.974 to 0.990 (P < 0.001) for non-simultaneous evaluation; and from 0.994 to 0.998 (P < 0.001) for simultaneous evaluation. Regarding the ARAT time, ICC was 0.992 (P < 0.001) for non-simultaneous evaluation; and 1.000 (P < 0.001) for simultaneous evaluation. Conclusions: The Japanese version of the ARAT is highly reliable and valid for measuring upper-extremity function in patients with stroke. Adding the performance timescale on the ARAT score scale can partially solve the "ceiling effect problem". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Against the background of linguistic and cultural differences, there is a need for translation and adaptation from the English version of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) to Japanese. In addition, there is no study of inter-rater reliability of FMA all domains for affected upper extremities with appropriate sample size based on the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) focusing on non-simultaneous assessment. Objective: This study aimed (1) to translate the English version of the FMA and its administration/scoring manual; and (2) to investigate the psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the FMA in patients with stroke. Methods: A prospective single-center study involving 30 patients was conducted. The FMA and the Action Research Arm Test, the Box-and-Block Test, and the Motor Activity Log were employed. The inter-rater/intra-rater reliability, the internal consistency, the validity, and the floor/ceiling effects were assessed. Results: Regarding the non-simultaneous and simultaneous inter-rater reliability, ICC ranged from 0.809-0.983 (P<0.001) and 0.991-0.999 (P<0.001), respectively. Regarding the simultaneous intra-rater reliability, ICC ranged from 0.994-0.999 (P<0.001). The Cronbach's alpha was 0.973 in the non-simultaneous evaluation and 0.981 in the simultaneous evaluation. Regarding the validity, Spearman's rhos were higher than 0.92 for the FMA all domains and motor domain. The patients who showed the highest score and the lowest score of the FMA (all domains and motor domain) were 10% and 0%, respectively. Conclusions: The Japanese version of the FMA motor domain and all domains can reliably assess the affected upper extremities in patients with mild-to-severe hemiparesis after stroke for both non-simultaneous and simultaneous assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Blinding for outcome assessors is considered less possible in rehabilitation treatment trials than in pharmacologic trials. This problem can be solved in part by the standardized remote evaluation system, in which researchers video-record patients for centralized assessment using prospectively standardized shooting procedures, and then outside assessors evaluate the videos using prospectively standardized methods. Objective To assess the inter-rater reliability of remote evaluation for the Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) and the action research arm test (ARAT) in hemiparetic patients after stroke. Methods A prospective, cross-sectional, single-center study involving 30 patients with mild-to-severe hemiparesis was conducted (Clinical Trial Registration—URL: http://www.umin.ac.jp/. Unique identifier: UMIN000022192). Two assessments (direct observation and video observation) were performed for each participant by trained assessors. The direct observation assessment was video-recorded for the video observation assessment. In the current study, a standardized guidebook for test administration and scoring was used, along with prospectively standardized shooting procedures. Results Regarding the sum scores of the total/subtests of the FMA and ARAT, the intraclass correlation coefficient ranged from 0.992 to 0.998 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.960-0.999; p < 0.0001) and Spearman’s rho ranged from 0.949 to 1.000 (95% CI, 0.985-1.000; p < 0.0001). Regarding the individual item scores of the outcome measures, weighted kappa (median of the sum scores of total/subtests) ranged from 0.921 to 1.000. Conclusions Remote evaluation of the FMA and ARAT reliably assesses the affected upper extremities in patients with mild-to-severe hemiparesis after stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]