Remote administration of the short physical performance battery, the 1-minute sit to stand, and the Chester step test in post-COVID-19 patients after hospitalization: establishing inter-reliability and agreement with the face-to-face assessment.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To assess the inter-reliability of the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), the 1-min Sit to Stand test (1-MSTS), and the Chester Step Test (CST) via remote assessment in post-COVID-19 patients after hospitalization. METHODS: Twenty-five post-COVID-19 patients randomly performed the functional tests via remote assessment using a software platform at home and via face-to-face assessment at the rehabilitation center 24-72 h apart. One day before the remote assessment, all participants had a 1-h guidance session regarding the platform use, safety instructions, and home equipment preparation. RESULTS: Participants completed all tests for both assessment procedures without experience of adverse events. The mean age was 53 (SD = 10) years old, and the median days of hospitalization were 23 (IQR = 10-33). The inter-reliability was moderate for the total score in the SPPB Cohen's kappa = 0.545 (95% CI 0.234 to 0.838), excellent for the number of repetitions in the 1-MSTS ICC = 0.977 (95% CI 0.948 to 0.990) and good for the total number of steps in the CST ICC = 0.871 (95% CI 0.698 to 0.944). CONCLUSION: Remote functional assessments for SPPB, 1-MSTS, and CST indicated moderate to excellent inter-reliability in post-COVID-19 patients after hospitalization.

Functional performance assessment in post-COVID-19 patients is considered important throughout the whole process of rehabilitation.The face-to-face assessment is the standard practice in the rehabilitation clinical setting however, new approaches by distance assessment are proposed when physical attendance is not feasible.The Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), the 1-minute Sit to Stand test (1-MSTS), and the Chester Step Test (CST) showed moderate to excellent reliability when performed remotely at home in post-COVID-19 patients after hospitalization.