Reliability of measures of gait performance and oxygen consumption with stroke survivors

This study assessed the reliability of gait performance with concurrent measures of oxygen consumption (VO2) in stroke survivors (SS). Nine male SS (60.00 +/- 15.08 yr) had a recent history of stroke (44.56 +/- 51.35 days since the stroke) and were receiving rehabilitation. Four had a right cerebrovascular accident (CVA), and five had a left CVA. Subjects walked without assistance, although three used a single cane to complete the test. Within 30 minutes, subjects completed two trials of a 5 min walk while walking back and forth on a 5 m walkway wearing a portable gas analyzer to collect samples of gases. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess reliability. The ICC for gait energy expenditure, walk distance, gait speed, and gait energy cost were 0.64, 0.97, 0.95, and 0.97, respectively. Assessment of gait performance with concurrent measures of VO2 is a reliable procedure with SS.