Article

The aim of this study was to examine the test-retest reproducibility
(reliability and agreement) of the 6-minute push test (6MPT) and the one-stroke
push test (1SPT), and construct validity of the 6MPT in children with cerebral
palsy (CP) who self-propel a manual wheelchair. METHOD: Seventy-three children
and adolescents with spastic CP (51 males, 22 females; mean age 11 y 9 mo, SD 3 y
7 mo, range 4-18 y; three unilateral, 70 bilateral) using a manual wheelchair for
at least part of the day were recruited from and tested in different
rehabilitation settings in the Netherlands and Brazil. Participants were
classified as Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level II (n=7),
III (n=36), or IV (n=30). RESULTS: Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for
distance covered on the 6MPT (mean distance 266.5 m, SD 120.6 m) and the 1SPT
(mean distance 4.5 m, SD 2.7 m) showed excellent reliability (ICC=0.97) for both
tests. There was a significant correlation between the 6MPT and the 1SPT (r=0.73;
p<0.001), and between the 6MPT and heart rate during the 6MPT (r=0.29, p=0.014).
INTERPRETATION: These results indicate that both the 6MPT and the 1SPT test are
reproducible functional tests for young people with CP who self-propel a
wheelchair. Agreement for the 6MPT seems relatively large for children who
perform short distances. Construct validity is supported for the 6MPT in children
with CP.
CI - (c) The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology (c) 2012 Mac Keith
Press.

Langue : ANGLAIS