Sunnybrook Facial Grading System reliability in subacute stroke patients

BACKGROUND: A lack of evidence on the reliability limits utility Sunnybrook Facial Grading System (SFGS) in individuals affected by stroke both clinical and research settings.AIM: To examine test-retest inter-rater SFGS patients subacute stroke.DESIGN: repeated-assessments design (fifteen days apart) was used to SFGS.SETTING: Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit.POPULATION: Thirty-two inpatients with stroke.METHODS: participated study. All were video recorded sitting position uncovered face for about two minutes, static evaluate symmetry at rest, then assessing voluntary movement synkinesis. For reliability, fifteen experts neurorehabilitation selected as raters. The facial function assessed using Italian version grading system a each patient. carried out through ICC, Intraclass Correlation Coefficient, while intra-rater comparing rater scores evaluated T0 T1 Wilcoxon signed-rank test.RESULTS: Evaluations showed significant correlation total ICC (T0+T1) 0.901 (95% CI: 0.852-0.942; P<0.001). is 0.914 0.869-0.950; P<0.001), 0.886 0.829-0.995; “voluntary symmetry” area correlated 0.916 0.835-0.958; “resting show 0.567 0.277-0.762; “synkinesis” shows lower 0.175 -0.180-0.489; attributed different moments observation resulted not significantly from 12 15 raters.CONCLUSIONS: reliable its overall score assess palsy also stroke.CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: findings this study provide empirical properties central stroke.