Characteristics of the Functional Gait Assessment in adolescents with concussion

OBJECTIVES: To assesse the characteristics and validity of the Functional Gait Assessment (FGA). Concussion is a frequent brain injury that affect cognition, balance, and mobility. Prediction of the course of recovery after concussion could be achieved using a multidimensional examination. The FGA has been used to assess balance of individuals with concussion. METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study was commenced between 2015-2020 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA, including 27 high schoolers with current complaints of concussion and 86 healthy controls. Participants in both groups provided demographics and completed FGA, Gait Disorientation Test (GDT), and Gait Speed (GS) tests. RESULTS: The FGA test correlated significantly with the GS and GDT. The FGA score in adolescents with concussion was significantly lower than healthy controls (U=1574.5, p=0.004). An FGA score less than 27 indicated a positive concussion injury with a sensitivity of 0.33 and a specificity of 0.92. The FGA showed a diagnostic odds ratio of 5.64. The positive and the negative likelihood ratios were of 3.03 and 0.54, respectively. For adolescents with concussion, the FGA showed no floor effect; however, a small ceiling effect (11.1%) was observed. CONCLUSION: The FGA was valid and feasible to assess concussion injuries. It should be noted that a full score on the FGA should not be interpreted as full recovery from a concussion injury.