Concurrent validity of the pediatric clinical test of sensory interaction for balance to quantify postural sway and movement strategies of children aged 7-12 years

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the concurrent validity of the Pediatric Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction for Balance (P-CTSIB), to quantify anterior-posterior sway and movement strategies using a motion analysis system as the gold standard. Material and Method: Protocol of the six conditions of P-CTSIB was used. For each condition, data were simultaneously collected from the standard measure and a motion analysis system and analyzed using Intraclass Correlation Coefficients and validity indexes. Results: Seventeen children with a mean age of 9.34 years (SD = 1.61) performed the test. For anterior-posterior sway data, highly significant agreements were found between the two measurement systems (ICC (2,1) = 0.945-0.986, p < 0.05). Sensitivities of the standard measure to detect immature movement strategy varied from 62.96 to 75.71%, while specificities ranged between 68.12 and 97.22%. Positive and negative predictive values ranged from 46.43 to 94.74%. Conclusion: The standard protocol of P-CTSIB has strong concurrent validity to measure anterior-posterior sway and acceptable levels of validity indexes to detect immature movement strategy, in addition to being a portable and simple clinical tool for objective assessment of standing balance in children.