The Reliability of the Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control (SATCo) in Children with Cerebral Palsy. (27th May 2018) - Hansen, Lisbeth
ABSTRACT: Aims : To assess the live-versus-video, intrarater interday and interrater interday reliability of the test Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control (SATCo), which seeks to estimate the degree of sitting trunk control in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Method : Thirty-one children with CP between 9 months and 16 years of age (22 males, mean age 8y 10mo [SD 3y 5mo], Gross Motor Function Classification System level I [ n = 13], II [ n = 4], III [ n = 4], IV [ n = 3], and V [ n = 7]) were included. Children were tested twice by two raters and tests were video recorded. Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test, ICC [2, 1] and a descriptive measure for absolute reliability were applied. Results : No systematic differences were found between live-versus-video, between raters or days ( p > 0.05) except for one analysis. All ICC values were excellent (ICC ≥ 0.9) except for one analysis for which it was good (ICC = 0.73). Complete agreement between scores was seen in 75% of all cases while 22% differed by one segmental level. Only 3% showed disagreement above one segmental level. Conclusions : SATCo is a clinically applicable assessment tool. Relative reliability is excellent and absolute agreement is good. Modifications regarding testing method could potentially improve the reliability and the value of the test in research and in clinical practice.