Reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the stroke upper limb capacity scale (SULCS) in post-stroke patients.

BACKGROUND

The Stroke Upper Limb Capacity Scale (SULCS) is a practical and useful performance-based tool designed to assess upper limb functional capacity, including both basic and advanced movement.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the SULCS in post-stroke patients.

STUDY

DESIGN

Cross-Cultural Translation Study

METHODS

A total of 56 patients with upper limb hemiparesis participated in the study. The Turkish SULCS was administered twice by the same researcher, with a one-week interval between assessments to determine intra-rater reliability. Additionally, the Fugl-Meyer and ABILHAND instruments were used to assess convergent validity.

RESULTS

The Turkish SULCS demonstrated strong intra-rater reliability, with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of.97 (95% confidence interval:.95-.98). For the total SULCS-Turkish score, the standard error of measurement (SEM) was calculated to be 0.61 (SEM% = 9.76), and the minimum detectable change (MDC) was 1.69. Excellent correlations were also found between the Turkish SULCS and both Fugl-Meyer and ABILHAND scales (r = 0.77 and r = 0.86, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that the Turkish SULCS has strong intra-rater reliability and excellent convergent validity, supporting its use in clinical settings to assess upper limb functional capacity in post-stroke patients.