Objective: To determine the ability of the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) to predict falls in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Background: Individuals with PD are at an increased risk for falls due to a decline in balance systems and postural control. It is essential to accurately identify individuals with PD at risk for falling so that preventive measures can be put in place. There are several clinical tests to evaluate balance, including the Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini-BESTest) and Sensory Organization Test (SOT). The Mini-BESTest currently is the most reliable test for identifying PD subjects at risk for recurrent falls (Mak, 2013). Unlike the Mini-BESTest, the SOT is an objective, computer-based test. The SOT is used to quantitatively assess an individual’s ability to use visual, proprioceptive, and vestibular cues to maintain postural stability, but has not yet been validated as a test for identifying PD subjects at risk of falling.

Methods: 39 subjects with PD (age 70.8 ± 9.9) were identified as fallers or non-fallers based on a history of two or more falls in the past six months. Balance was then evaluated using the SOT and Mini-BESTest tests. PD motor symptoms were evaluated using MDS-UPDRS-III. The SOT was performed twice to account for any learned effects; only the second score was used (DiFrancisco-Donoghue, 2015). All tests were performed at peak medication.

Results: 19 fallers and 20 non-fallers were evaluated. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean Mini-BESTest score of 17.8 ± 5.6 for fallers compared to 24.8 ± 2.3 for nonfallers (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in the mean SOT score of 61.8 ± 14.4 compared to 71.8 ± 9.4 for nonfallers (p<0.05). The mean MDS-UPDRS-III score for fallers was 33.6 ±11.6 and 27.8± 9.2 for nonfallers, this was not significant. An ROC curve was constructed to determine the optimal cut-off score for determining a high-risk faller with PD. The suggested SOT cut-off score for was 71, with a moderate sensitivity of 70% and specificity of 60%.

Conclusions: Our data suggests the SOT is a reliable test to identify PD subjects at risk for falling. A prospective study examining fall rate and SOT scores would be useful to confirm a cutoff value.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/reliability-of-the-sensory-organization-test-to-predict-falls-in-individuals-with-parkinsons-disease/