Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Disability and Rehabilitation
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences
RAS ID
31823
Abstract
Purpose:
To describe the development and determine the diagnostic accuracy of the Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test in detecting aphasia. Methods: Consecutive acute stroke admissions (n = 100; mean = 66.49y) participated in a single (assessor) blinded cross-sectional study. Index assessment was the ∼ 45 min Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test. The Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test is further divided into four 15–25 min Short Tests: two Foundation Tests (severe impairment), Standard (moderate) and High Level Test (mild). Independent reference standard included the Language Screening Test, Aphasia Screening Test, Comprehensive Aphasia Test and/or Measure for Cognitive-Linguistic Abilities, treating team diagnosis and aphasia referral post-ward discharge. Results: Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test cut-off score of ≤ 157 demonstrated 80.8% (LR+ = 10.9) sensitivity and 92.6% (LR− = 0.21) specificity. All Short Tests reported specificities of ≥ 92.6%. Foundation Tests I (cut-off ≤ 61) and II (cut-off ≤ 51) reported lower sensitivity ( ≥ 57.5%) given their focus on severe conditions. The Standard (cut-off ≤ 90) and High Level Test (cut-off ≤ 78) reported sensitivities of ≥ 72.6%. Conclusion: The Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test is a sensitive assessment of aphasia. Diagnostically, the High Level Test recorded the highest psychometric capabilities of the Short Tests, equivalent to the full Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test. The test is available for download from brisbanetest.org. Implications for rehabilitation: Aphasia is a debilitating condition and accurate identification of language disorders is important in healthcare. Language assessment is complex and the accuracy of assessment procedures is dependent upon a variety of factors. The Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test is a new evidence-based language test specifically designed to adapt to varying patient need, clinical contexts and co-occurring conditions. In this cross-sectional validation study, the Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test was found to be a sensitive measure for identifying aphasia in stroke.
DOI
10.1080/09638288.2020.1773547
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
Rohde, A., Doi, S. A., Worrall, L., Godecke, E., Farrell, A., O’Halloran, R., ... & Wong, A. (2022). Development and diagnostic validation of the Brisbane Evidence-Based Language Test. Disability and Rehabilitation, 44(4), 625-636.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2020.1773547