Which Gait Tasks Produce Reliable Outcome Measures of Freezing of Gait in Parkinson's Disease?

BACKGROUND: Measurement of freezing of gait (FOG) relies on the sensitivity and reliability of tasks to provoke FOG. It is currently unclear which tasks provide the best outcomes and how medication state plays into this.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the sensitivity and test-retest reliability of various FOG-provoking tasks for presence and severity of FOG, with (ON) and without (OFF) dopaminergic medication.

METHODS: FOG-presence and percentage time frozen (% TF) were derived from video annotations of a home-based FOG-provoking protocol performed in OFF and ON. This included: the four meter walk (4MW), Timed Up and Go (TUG) single (ST) and dual task (DT), 360° turns in ST and DT, a doorway condition, and a personalized condition. Sensitivity was tested at baseline in 63 definite freezers. Test-retest reliability was evaluated over 5 weeks in 26 freezers.

RESULTS: Sensitivity and test-retest reliability were highest for 360° turns and higher in OFF than ON. Test-retest intra-class correlation coefficients of % TF varied between 0.63-0.90 in OFF and 0.18-0.87 in ON, and minimal detectable changes (MDCs) were high. The optimal protocol included TUG ST, 360° turns ST, 360° turns DT and a doorway condition, provoking FOG in all freezers in OFF and 91.9% in ON and this could be done reliably in 95.8% (OFF) and 84.0% (ON) of the sample. Combining OFF and ON further improved outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS: The highest sensitivity and reliability was achieved with a multi-trigger protocol performed in OFF + ON. However, the high MDCs for % TF underscore the need for further optimization of FOG measurement.