The Korean Version of Berg Balance Scale as an Index of Activity Related to Ambulation in Subjects with Stroke

Lee, Jae Jun; Lee, Hoon Jae; Park, Jin Hee; Han, Eun Young; Kim, Myung Jong; Jung, Han Young

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the clinical usefulness of the Korean version of Berg balance scale (K-BBS) by obtaining the cutoff value for the activities related to ambulation in subjects with stroke. METHOD: We measured the K-BBS and checked the activities related to ambulation in 52 subjects with stroke every other week. The activities related to ambulation were composed of 4 stages, including independent sitting, independent sit to stand, independent gait with Q (quad) cane and independent gait without any assistance. Data were analyzed by ROC (Receiver operating characteristic) curve technique to obtain each cutoff value of the K-BBS representing for the individual activities.
RESULTS
The ROC analysis showed that each activity matched the following cutoff values: independent sitting, 5; independent sit to stand, 18; independent gait with Q cane, 25; and independent gait without any assistance, 34.
CONCLUSION
The K-BBS would be a useful instrument to tell the degrees of the activities related to ambulation and the cutoff values could be helpful for judging the assistance level for ambulation in patients with stroke.