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The Reliability of the Sensory Organization Test in Parkinson's Disease to Identify Fall Risk

Received: 13 February 2017    Accepted: 25 February 2017    Published: 14 March 2017
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Abstract

The Sensory Organization Test (SOT) is an objective computer-based test used to quantitatively assess an individual’s ability to use visual, proprioceptive, and vestibular cues to maintain postural stability. The objective of this study was to determine the reliability of the SOT to differentiate fallers as compared to non-fallers in individuals with PD. This was a non-randomized single site controlled trial in a clinical setting. 39 subjects with PD (age 70.8 ± 9.9) were identified as fallers or non-fallers based on a history of two or more falls in the past six months. Balance was evaluated using the SOT, Mini-BESTest and MDS-UPDRS-III. Composite scores from the SOT, Mini-BESTest and MDS-UPDRS III were analyzed. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean Mini-BESTest score of 17.8 ± 5.6 for fallers compared to 24.8 ± 2.3 for nonfallers (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in the mean SOT score of 61.8 ± 14.4 compared to 71.8 ± 9.4 for nonfallers (p<0.05). The mean MDS-UPDRS-III score for fallers was 33.6 ±11.6 and 27.8± 9.2 for nonfallers, this was not significant. An ROC curve was constructed to determine the optimal cut-off score for determining a high-risk faller with PD. Our data suggests the SOT is a reliable test to identify PD subjects at risk for falling with a cut-off score of < 67.

Published in International Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy (Volume 2, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijnpt.20160205.11
Page(s) 39-43
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

SOT, PD, Balance

References
[1] Landers MR, Backlund A, Davenport J, Fortune J, Schuerman S, Altenburger P. Postural instability in idiopathic Parkinson's disease: discriminating fallers from nonfallers based on standardized clinical measures. J Neurol Phys Ther 2008; 322: 56-61.
[2] Foreman KB, Addison O, Kim HS, Dibble LE. Testing balance and fall risk in persons with Parkinson disease, an argument for ecologically valid testing. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2011; 173: 166-71.
[3] Wood BH, Bilclough JA, Bowron A, Walker RW. Incidence and prediction of falls in Parkinson's disease: a prospective multidisciplinary study. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2002; 726: 721-5.
[4] Duncan RP, Leddy AL, Cavanaugh JT, Dibble LE, Ellis TD, Ford MP, Foreman KB, Earhart GM. Accuracy of fall prediction in Parkinson disease: six-month and 12-month prospective analyses. Parkinsons Dis 2012; 2012: 237673.
[5] Mak MK, Auyeung MM. The mini-BESTest can predict parkinsonian recurrent fallers: a 6-month prospective study. J Rehabil Med 2013; 456: 565-71.
[6] Thevathasan W, Aziz T. Predicting falls in Parkinson disease: a step in the right direction. Neurology 2010; 752: 107-8.
[7] DiFrancisco-Donoghue J, Jung MK, Geisel P, Werner WG. Learning effects of the sensory organization test as a measure of postural control and balance in Parkinson's disease. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2015; 218: 858-61.
[8] Leddy AL, Crowner BE, Earhart GM. Functional gait assessment and balance evaluation system test: reliability, validity, sensitivity, and specificity for identifying individuals with Parkinson disease who fall. Phys Ther 2011; 911: 102-13.
[9] Goetz CG. Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS): a new scale for the evaluation of Parkinson's disease. Rev Neurol (Paris) 2010; 1661: 1-4.
[10] Schoneburg B, Mancini M, Horak F, Nutt JG. Framework for understanding balance dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. Mov Disord 2013; 2811: 1474-82.
[11] Bronte-Stewart HM, Minn AY, Rodrigues K, Buckley EL, Nashner LM. Postural instability in idiopathic Parkinson's disease: the role of medication and unilateral pallidotomy. Brain 2002; 125Pt 9: 2100-14.
[12] Kegelmeyer DA, Kloos AD, Thomas KM, Kostyk SK. Reliability and validity of the Tinetti Mobility Test for individuals with Parkinson disease. Phys Ther 2007; 8710: 1369-78.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Joanne DiFrancisco-Donoghue, Min-Kyung Jung, Theresa Apoznanski, William G. Werner, Sheldon Yao. (2017). The Reliability of the Sensory Organization Test in Parkinson's Disease to Identify Fall Risk. International Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy, 2(5), 39-43. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnpt.20160205.11

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    ACS Style

    Joanne DiFrancisco-Donoghue; Min-Kyung Jung; Theresa Apoznanski; William G. Werner; Sheldon Yao. The Reliability of the Sensory Organization Test in Parkinson's Disease to Identify Fall Risk. Int. J. Neurol. Phys. Ther. 2017, 2(5), 39-43. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnpt.20160205.11

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    AMA Style

    Joanne DiFrancisco-Donoghue, Min-Kyung Jung, Theresa Apoznanski, William G. Werner, Sheldon Yao. The Reliability of the Sensory Organization Test in Parkinson's Disease to Identify Fall Risk. Int J Neurol Phys Ther. 2017;2(5):39-43. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnpt.20160205.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijnpt.20160205.11,
      author = {Joanne DiFrancisco-Donoghue and Min-Kyung Jung and Theresa Apoznanski and William G. Werner and Sheldon Yao},
      title = {The Reliability of the Sensory Organization Test in Parkinson's Disease to Identify Fall Risk},
      journal = {International Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy},
      volume = {2},
      number = {5},
      pages = {39-43},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijnpt.20160205.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnpt.20160205.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnpt.20160205.11},
      abstract = {The Sensory Organization Test (SOT) is an objective computer-based test used to quantitatively assess an individual’s ability to use visual, proprioceptive, and vestibular cues to maintain postural stability. The objective of this study was to determine the reliability of the SOT to differentiate fallers as compared to non-fallers in individuals with PD. This was a non-randomized single site controlled trial in a clinical setting. 39 subjects with PD (age 70.8 ± 9.9) were identified as fallers or non-fallers based on a history of two or more falls in the past six months. Balance was evaluated using the SOT, Mini-BESTest and MDS-UPDRS-III. Composite scores from the SOT, Mini-BESTest and MDS-UPDRS III were analyzed. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean Mini-BESTest score of 17.8 ± 5.6 for fallers compared to 24.8 ± 2.3 for nonfallers (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in the mean SOT score of 61.8 ± 14.4 compared to 71.8 ± 9.4 for nonfallers (p<0.05). The mean MDS-UPDRS-III score for fallers was 33.6 ±11.6 and 27.8± 9.2 for nonfallers, this was not significant. An ROC curve was constructed to determine the optimal cut-off score for determining a high-risk faller with PD. Our data suggests the SOT is a reliable test to identify PD subjects at risk for falling with a cut-off score of < 67.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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    AB  - The Sensory Organization Test (SOT) is an objective computer-based test used to quantitatively assess an individual’s ability to use visual, proprioceptive, and vestibular cues to maintain postural stability. The objective of this study was to determine the reliability of the SOT to differentiate fallers as compared to non-fallers in individuals with PD. This was a non-randomized single site controlled trial in a clinical setting. 39 subjects with PD (age 70.8 ± 9.9) were identified as fallers or non-fallers based on a history of two or more falls in the past six months. Balance was evaluated using the SOT, Mini-BESTest and MDS-UPDRS-III. Composite scores from the SOT, Mini-BESTest and MDS-UPDRS III were analyzed. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean Mini-BESTest score of 17.8 ± 5.6 for fallers compared to 24.8 ± 2.3 for nonfallers (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in the mean SOT score of 61.8 ± 14.4 compared to 71.8 ± 9.4 for nonfallers (p<0.05). The mean MDS-UPDRS-III score for fallers was 33.6 ±11.6 and 27.8± 9.2 for nonfallers, this was not significant. An ROC curve was constructed to determine the optimal cut-off score for determining a high-risk faller with PD. Our data suggests the SOT is a reliable test to identify PD subjects at risk for falling with a cut-off score of < 67.
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Author Information
  • Department of Osteopathic Medicine, New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY, USA

  • Office of Research, NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY, USA

  • Department of Osteopathic Medicine, New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY, USA

  • Department of Physical Therapy, NYIT, Old Westbury, NY, USA

  • Department of Osteopathic Medicine, New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY, USA

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