Abstract
Objective
To externally validate the Recurrent Fall Risk Scale (ReFR) in community-dwelling
stroke survivors.
Methods
Cohort of stroke survivors with independent gait ability recruited from a reference
outpatient stroke clinic. Besides sociodemographic and clinical data, the following
scales were used: Modified Barthel Index (mBI), ReFR scale and National Institutes
of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). Participants were followed up for 12 months to record
the incidence of falls. Accuracy of the ReFR scale was measured by the area under
the ROC curve.
Results
One hundred and thirteen individuals were recruited between April 2016 and November
2016: mean age 54 years (± 14), 55% women, median time since the last stroke 24 months
(range 12 –48 months), posterior vascular territory affected in 35% of the sample.
Median NIHSS was 3 (range 1 to 6), median mBI 49 (range 46–50), median ReFR 3 (range
2 to 5). During the follow-up period, 32 (33%) subjects had at least one fall and
18 (19%) were recurrent fallers (two or more falls). The accuracy of ReFR scale was
0.67 (95% CI = 0.54–0.79), p = 0.026.
Conclusion
This study externally validated the ReFR as a tool to predict recurrent falls in individuals
after stroke.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
May 15,
2020
Received in revised form:
May 14,
2020
Received:
February 13,
2020
Footnotes
This work was performed at Stroke Clinic of the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil.
Identification
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2020.104985
Copyright
© 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
