Validación al español del cuestionario de equilibrio Brief-BESTest en pacientes que han sufrido un ictus

Abstract

Background: Balance disorders and postural control play an important role in fall prevention. The Brief-BESTest is a short scale employed to evaluate balance and fall risk in different populations. Balance assessment is a fundamental element in the rehabilitation of patients with adquired brain injury since postural alteration is one of the most frequent sequelae. Objective: To validate the Spanish version of the Brief-BESTest questionnaire in patients with acute or chronic stroke. Methods: Subjects of both sexes aged over 18 years, with a diagnosis of acute or chronic stroke were included in the study. The BESTest, Mini-BESTest, Brief-BESTest, Berg Balance Scale, and Timed Up & Go Test were used to assess balance. The scales were implemented once in the study. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to assess reliability and exploratory and confirmatory factorial analysis were employed to assess validity. Results: 44 patients with a mean age of 65,35 years (SD 10,665) participated. Cronbach's alpha coefficient showed high reliability with a value of 0,839. In the criterion validity, there was a high positive correlation between the Brief-BESTest and the BESTest (r = 0,879), Mini-BESTest (r = 0,808) and the Berg Balance Scale (r = 0,711). Conclusions: The Spanish version of the Brief-BESTest scale is valid and reliable, showing adequate psychometric properties for the assessment of balance in patients with acute or chronic stroke.