The Fugl–Meyer assessment of the upper extremity: reliability, responsiveness and validity of the Danish version

Abstract

Objective: To translate the Fugl-Meyer Assessment of the Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) into Danish and to establish the inter-tester reliability, responsiveness, Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) and concurrent validity of the FMA-UE in a population of stroke patients. Method: The translation was conducted in accordance with the principles outlined by the ISPOR Task Force for Translation and Cultural Adaption. Inter-rater reliability was assessed at baseline. Each patient was tested by two examiners and inter class correlation (ICC) was calculated. Responsiveness was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve statistics. The FMA-UE change score was used to assess sensitivity and specificity and to correctly determine which patients had improved. The MCID and the area under the curve (AUC) were established using the ROC. The FMA-UE’s concurrent validity with the Motor Assessment Scale was determined using Spearman’s rank correlation. Setting: The study took place at Skive Neurorehabilition, Denmark from May 2014 to February 2015. Participants: Inpatients, who were in the acute to sub-acute stage of stroke and aged > 18 years. Interventions: Not applicable. Main outcome measure: The FMA-UE. Results: In 50 inpatients the ICC was 0.95, AUC was 0.87, with a sensitivity of 77%, a specificity of 89% and an MCID ≥ 4. Concurrent validity was high, with r = 0.94–0.95. Conclusion: The FMA-UE was successfully translated into Danish. An MCID ≥ 4 was found. This study provides evidence that the FMA-UE is a reliable, responsive and valid instrument for measuring upper limb impairment after stroke.

Implications for rehabilitation

• One of the most widely recognized measures of upper extremity motor impairment post-stroke is the Fugl-Meyer Assessment of the Upper Extremity (FMA-UE).

• The psychometric properties of a measurement depends on the population and setting in which it is used.

• In this study, the FMA-UE is translated into Danish and the psychometric properties of FMA-UE is determined in a Danish population of patients with stroke.

• The FMA-UE is now available to use for clinicians in Denmark.

Keywords:

• Danish
• Fugl-Meyer assessment upper extremity
• outcome assessment
• reliability
• stroke
• validity

Acknowledgements

We thank the staff at Skive Regional Hospital for assistance with data collection.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no declaration of interest.

Funding information

We thank the Danish Physiotherapy Association for financial support.