Responsiveness of Edinburgh Visual Gait Score to orthopedic surgical intervention of the lower limbs in children with cerebral palsy.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to report the responsiveness and minimal clinically important difference of the Edinburgh Visual Gait Score (EVGS), used to measure gait deviations in children with cerebral palsy.


METHODS
Fifty ambulant children with spastic diplegia (Gross Motor Function Classification System levels II and III) aged between 6 and 19 yrs were recruited for this longitudinal study. The participants were evaluated before surgery and at 6 and 12 mos after surgery. The change in EVGS at these time points was used to calculate effect sizes and minimal clinically important differences.


RESULTS
Friedman analysis of variance showed a significant difference (χ2 = 60.69, P = 0.000) in the EVGS scores at 6 and 12 mos when compared with baseline. Effect sizes at 6 and 12 mos were large (1.19 and 1.22, respectively), indicating a visible difference in gait .The minimal clinically important differences of EVGS at 6 and 12 mos were 11 and 15, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The EVGS is an outcome measure that can be used to evaluate the effect of orthopedic surgical intervention in children with cerebral palsy. Differences of 11 and 15 points on the EVGS are required to suggest that changes in gait are attributable to intervention when group means are considered.
Department of Physiotherapy, Manipal College of Allied Health Science, Manipal University, Karnataka, India.
Saumen
S
Gupta
Kavitha
K
Raja
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009788:Occupational Therapy; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult