Reliability, standard error of measurement, and minimal detectable change of the star excursion balance test in children with cerebral palsy.

Objective: The present study aimed to estimate the reliability, standard error of measurement (SEM), and minimum detectable change (MDC) of the star excursion balance test (SEBT) in children with cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods: Eight children with CP (five boys and three girls, sixteen legs) participated in this study. Each child carried out the SEBT and was assessed by two examiners. To determine intra-rater reliability, the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) model (3, 3) was calculated. To determine the inter-rater reliability, the ICC model (2, 3) was computed.

Results: In terms of the intra-rater reliability of the SEBT, the ICC varied from 0.98 to 0.99 and the total ICC score was 0.99 (p< 0.001). For the inter-rater reliability, the ICC varied from 0.98 to 1.00 and the total ICC score was 0.99 (p< 0.001). The SEBT had an SEM of 2.63 and an MDC of 7.31.

Conclusion: The SEBT is not only reliable with a small SEM, but is also a simple and cheap assessment of dynamic balance in children with CP.