title: Assessing grip strength in healthy individuals and patients with immune-mediated polyneuropathies.
abstract: Grip strength reference values for a portable dynamometer, the hand-held Vigorimeter, were calculated, and its validity, reliability, and responsiveness were examined in patients with immune-mediated polyneuropathies. We studied 530 healthy controls (age 5-93 years), 113 patients with stable polyneuropathy (83 with Guillain-Barré syndrome [GBS], 22 with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy [CIDP], and 8 with a gammopathy-associated polyneuropathy), and 20 patients with GBS or CIDP and changing clinical conditions (longitudinal group). An arm-disability scale was also assessed. Grip-strength reference values were calculated depending primarily on age and gender. Significant association was obtained between the Vigorimeter and the arm scale (in stable group, Spearman rank: r = -0.52 to -0.62; P </= 0.0005; in longitudinal group, linear regressions: r = 0.62-0.64, P < 0.0001). Good interobserver and intra-observer agreements (analysis of variance, r = 0.95-0.97) and high responsiveness (standardized response mean scores > or = 0.8) were demonstrated for the Vigorimeter. These results emphasize the clinical usefulness of the Vigorimeter, particularly in patients with immune-mediated polyneuropathies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital Rotterdam/Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. isjmerkies@hotmail.com
authors.forename: I S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Merkies
authors.forename: P I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Schmitz
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Samijn
authors.forename: F G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Meché
authors.forename: K V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Toyka
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: van Doorn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D020275:Guillain-Barre Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008998:Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance / Q000150:complications*; D009462:Neurology / Q000295:instrumentation; D011115:Polyneuropathies / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D020277:Polyradiculoneuropathy, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012016:Reference Values