Psychometric properties of lift and carry test in assessing people with stroke

Peiming Chen; Mimi M Y Tse; Shamay S M Ng; Leo C M Ho; Anthony T C Kwok; Sam C Y Lam; Tai Wa Liu; Thomson W L Wong; Billy C L So; Cynthia Y Y Lai

doi:10.3389/fneur.2024.1379536

Psychometric properties of lift and carry test in assessing people with stroke

Front Neurol. 2024 Aug 22:15:1379536. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1379536. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Peiming Chen^{1

2}, Mimi M Y Tse³, Shamay S M Ng^{1

2}, Leo C M Ho¹, Anthony T C Kwok¹, Sam C Y Lam¹, Tai Wa Liu³, Thomson W L Wong^{1

2}, Billy C L So^{1

2}, Cynthia Y Y Lai¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
² Research Centre for Chinese Medicine Innovation, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
³ School of Nursing and Health Studies, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the psychometric properties of the Lift and Carry Test (LCT) time in people with stroke.

Design: Cross-sectional design.

Setting: University based neurorehabilitation laboratory.

Participants: Twenty-four people with stroke and 24 healthy controls.

Outcome measures: Lift and Carry Test (LCT), Fugl-Meyer Assessment of upper extremity and lower extremity, ankle dorsiflexor and plantarflexor muscle strength, Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up and Go (TUG) and Community Integration Measure.

Results: The mean LCT time (29.70s) in people with stroke was more than double of that in healthy controls (13.70s). The LCT showed excellent intra-rater, inter-rater and test-retest reliability [intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.943-1.000]. The LCT times demonstrated a significant negative correlation with the BBS score (r_s = -0.771) and significant positive correlations with the TUG times (r_s = 0.933). There was no significant correlation between LCT times and FMA score (p > 0.05). An optimal cut-off LCT time of 15.48 s (sensitivity = 95.8%, specificity = 87.5%) was identified to differentiate between people with stroke and healthy controls (area under the curve = 0.957).

Conclusion: LCT is an excellent clinical test for examining advanced functional ability in people with stroke and distinguishing people with stroke from healthy controls.

Keywords: advance motor function; assessment; lower limb; stroke; upper limb.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by the Health and Medical Research Fund (17182001), Food and Health Bureau, Hong Kong SAR Government, awarded to SN and her team.