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. 2018 Jan;57(1):136-139.
doi: 10.1002/mus.25700. Epub 2017 Jun 6.

Reliability of the triple-timed up-and-go test

Donald B Sanders  1 , Jeffrey T Guptill  1 , Kathy L Aleš  2 , Lisa D Hobson-Webb  1 , David P Jacobus  2 , Riaz Mahmood  3 , Janice M Massey  1 , Melissa M Pittman  1 , Kristi Prather  4 , Shruti M Raja  1 , Eric Yow  4 , Vern C Juel  1
Affiliations

Reliability of the triple-timed up-and-go test

Donald B Sanders et al. Muscle Nerve. 2018 Jan.

Abstract

Introduction: We report the reliability of a new measure, the triple-timed up-and-go (3TUG) test, for assessing clinical function in patients with Lambert-Eaton myasthenia (LEM).

Methods: Intrarater reproducibility and interrater agreement of the 3TUG test were assessed in 25 control participants, 24 patients with non-LEM neuromuscular disease, and 12 patients with LEM. The coverage probability (CP) method was the primary measure of reproducibility and agreement. The a priori acceptable range was < 20% difference in 3TUG test times and a CP ≥0.90 confirmed agreement.

Results: CP values > 0.90 for intrarater and interrater tests confirmed acceptable reproducibility and agreement for all groups.

Discussion: The 3TUG test is a quick, noninvasive, and reproducible measure that is easy to perform, measures clinically important weakness in LEM patients, and requires little training. Additional evaluation in a larger number of LEM patients is in progress to validate the 3TUG test as a clinical measure in LEM. Muscle Nerve 57: 136-139, 2017.

Keywords: 3,4-diaminopyridine; Lambert-Eaton myasthenia; coverage probability; outcome measures; reliability; timed up-and-go test.

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Conflict of interest statement

The remaining authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Test-Retest Comparisons
Bland-Altman plots of data from Test 1 and Test 2. The top solid line in each plot shows the bias. A. Controls. Data from 75 paired 3TUG times measured by 2 live and 1 blinded observer on 25 control subjects. All test-retest differences are less than 1.25 seconds and 71/75 are within +/− 1.96SD of the mean. The measurement for Test 1 was on average 0.13 sec greater than that for Test 2. B. Neuromuscular disease. Data from 72 paired 3TUG times for Test 1 and Test 2 measured by 2 live and 1 blinded observer on 24 patients with non-LEM neuromuscular disease. All test-retest differences are less than 2 seconds and 67/72 are within +/− 1.96SD of the mean. The measurement for Test 1 was on average 0.22 sec greater than that for Test 2. C. LEM. Data from 24 paired 3TUG times for Day 0 and Day 1 from a live and a blnded observer on 12 LEM patients. All test-retest differences are less than 2 seconds and 22/24 are within +/− 1.96SD of the mean. The measurement for Test 1 was on average 0.42 sec greater than that for Test 2.
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