The stroke upper-limb activity monitor: its sensitivity to measure hemiplegic upper-limb activity during daily life.
OBJECTIVE
To test the Stroke Upper-Limb Activity Monitor (Stroke-ULAM), which uses electrogoniometry and accelerometry to measure the amount of upper-limb usage in stroke patients in daily life conditions, for its sensitivity to discriminate between moderately recovered and well-recovered stroke patients and control subjects.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
At home or a rehabilitation center.


METHODS
Seventeen patients with stroke and 5 control subjects.


METHODS
Not applicable.


METHODS
Level of usage of upper limb and the percentage of affected upper-limb activity compared with unaffected upper-limb activity (proportion).


RESULTS
The level of usage of the affected upper limb of stroke patients was lower than that of the nondominant upper limb of control subjects (electrogoniometry, 97.8 degrees+/-92.3 degrees/min vs 286.2 degrees+/-46.5 degrees/min, P<.01; accelerometry 1.0+/-0.5 g/min vs 2.4+/-0.8 g/min, P<.01). Stroke patients had lower proportions than control subjects in both electrogoniometry (22.6%+/-18.0% vs 84.6%+/-9.8%, P<.01) and accelerometry (39.2%+/-21.4% vs 93.3%+/-5.0%, P<.01). Well-recovered stroke patients had significantly higher proportions compared with moderately recovered patients on both electrogoniometry and accelerometry.


CONCLUSIONS
The Stroke-ULAM sensitively measures actual performance, and therefore can be a valuable addition to the mostly capacity-oriented tools currently used to evaluate upper-limb function. Proportion is preferred to the level of usage.
de Niet
Mark
M
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Bussmann
Johannes B
JB
Ribbers
Gerard M
GM
Stam
Henk J
HJ
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000379:methods*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation