Paschal KA, Lofgren S, Oswald A, Siegmund R, Threlkeld AJ; Department of Physical Therapy, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Physical Performance Test (PPT) to determine its reliability and practical usefulness as a measure of physical function in patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). BACKGROUND: The PPT is a 9-item performance-based measure of both basic and instrumental daily activities. Scoring for 7 of the 9 items is based on the time to complete the task. Scores for individual items are summed giving a possible range of 0-36. A higher summed score represents better performance. SUBJECTS: Fourteen community-dwelling subjects with PD participated: 8M, 6F; Hoehn and Yahr Stages 2 and 2.5; mean age 62.4 years ( ± 6.3). METHODS: The PPT was administered to each subject during maximum medication effectiveness and required 10-15 minutes to complete. The test was administered again one week later. ANALYSES: The 9 individual item scores were compared between testing sessions using repeated measures ANOVA, CV, and ICC (2, 1) Summary scores were calculated and compared by t-test. (p£ 0.05). RESULTS: Individual item scores were not different between testing sessions (p = 0.28). The mean CV across all scores was 11% (range 4-24%) and not significantly different. The ICC was .81 (good agreement). Summed scores (all 9 items) ranged from 21-31 and were not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: The PPT appears to be a reliable and useful measure to assess the physical performance of people with stage 2 and 2.5 PD. Simple props and brief administration time make the test practical for clinical use. Strong test-retest reliability along with mid-range scores suggest the PPT may be an appropriate tool to measure change in physical performance over time and is resistant to floor or ceiling effects for people with PD. The sensitivity of the PPT to changes resulting from clinical interventions for people with PD is worthy of further study. FUNDING SOURCE: None.

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