Article

Standard assessment instruments cannot differentiate patients with
minimal residual hand function after stroke. As a result, changes in motor
recovery are difficult to document using currently-available tests. In a
controlled study with chronic stroke patients without residual finger extension,
a new hand function test has been developed. This instrument, called Broetz Hand
Test (BzH), allows to assess small variations in hand function in severely
paralyzed stoke patients. The instrument is easy to use, and was developed using
principles of motor learning and behavioral assessment. METHODS: The instrument
consists of seven daily life-oriented tasks, each of which asks for movement of
the paralyzed hand. BzH of 20 patients after stroke was evaluated before and
after a behavioral physiotherapy treatment. Sensitivity, inter-observer
reliability, test-retest reliability and construct validity was calculated.
RESULTS: Two-tailed paired-samples t-test before and after treatment demonstrated
sufficient sensitivity. Mean agreement between the raters resulted in an
excellent interrater-reliability. Test-retest reliability between the pre- and
post-treatment scores was 0.9. The correlation between BzH and standard test
scores was statistically significant and demonstrated sufficient validity.
CONCLUSION: The BzH is a valid and reliable tool to assess changes in hand
function in severely paralyzed patients after stroke.

Langue : ANGLAIS