Validity of the 5-item Barthel Index in the assessment of physical dependence in the elderly

Introduction. This study examined the validity of the 5-item Barthel index for use as a rapid screening tool in a busy clinical setting to detect elderly patients with physical dependence. Method. A consecutive series of 68 men and 34 women aged >65 years who presented with a non-acute medical illness were included. The 5-item Barthel index was administered by intern medical officers. After 48 hours, patients were reassessed using the 10-item Barthel index as the reference by a blinded assessor. The validity of the 2 assessments was analysed using the Pearson correlation. The positive likelihood ratio for different cut-off values of the 5-item Barthel index was examined. Results. The 5-item and 10-item Brathel index scales were highly correlated (r=0.9, p