The validity of a road test after stroke

Objectives: To determine the validity of a road test performed by stroke patients in Belgium and to reestablish its reliability. Design: Prospective study of a predriving evaluation. Setting: University hospital in Belgium. Participants: Thirty-eight patients with sequelae of first-ever stroke. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Performance in the Stroke Driver Screening Assessment (SDSA) and on a road test. Results: Interrater reliability of the road test subitems was moderate to substantial (weighted K range,.44-78). Item-per-item reliability varied from moderately high (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = .63) to very high (ICC = .87). The reliability of the overall performance in the road test was very high (ICC = .83). For the criterion validity of the road test, 78.9% of the subjects were correctly classified when the judgments of the principal evaluator were compared with outcomes of the SDSA. Agreement in classification between the principal evaluator and a state-registered evaluator's judgments was 81.6%. The sensitivity and specificity of the agreement were very high (80.6%) and perfect (100%), respectively. Conclusions: The road test is a reliable and valid test of driving ability after stroke. (C) 2005 by American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.