The Berg Balance Scale at Admission Can Predict Community Ambulation at Discharge in Patients with Stroke

Background and Objectives: To regain the ability of community ambulation is a meaningful goal for stroke patients. Recent research recommended that the distance accomplished during the six-minute walk test (≥205 m in 6MWT) is the fittest for defining community ambulation. Until now, there are few studies that have used the updated definition to investigate the related predictors. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the admission clinical parameters and community ambulation measured by the 6MWT at discharge. The other aim was to find the admission Berg Balance Scale (BBS) cut-off score to discriminate between household or community ambulators. Materials and Methods: This cohort study collected the data of patients who entered the post-acute Care Cerebrovascular Diseases program. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify significant predictors measured at admission that are associated with community ambulation, and a receiver operating characteristic was adopted to calculate the cut-off value for admission status. There were 120 participants included in this study, and 25% (n = 30) of them regained the ability of community ambulation at discharge. The BBS on admission was identified as the only significant predictor for community ambulation (odds ratio 1.06). Results: The optimal cut-off score for the BBS at admission was 29, and the area under the curve for BBS scores on admission when discriminating between household and community ambulators at discharge was 0.74. Conclusions: The admission BBS scores could be used to predict household and community ambulators at discharge in stroke patients. The results of this study could help clinical physicians set appropriate discharge goals early.