FSST-Haemophilia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An investigation of the reliability and validity of the Four-Square Step Test to assess functional balance in Haemophilia
IRAS ID
270459
Contact name
Karen Barker
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Oxford University Hospital Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Haemophilia is the most common inherited bleeding disorder which puts patients at increased risk of bleeding into the large joints, such as the knee and ankle. With the recent improvements in treatment the life expectancy of patients is now near to that of the general population.
The bleeding leads to changes within the joints, including joint lining inflammation (synovitis) and this in turn results in further bleeding and chronic synovitis. Blood in the joint can also directly damage the cartilage and with repeated bleeds leads to a progressive destruction of both the cartilage and bone. The result is a haemophilia arthropathy. The most common joints affected are the ankle, knee and elbow.
Together with this damage, patients can also experience pain, muscle wasting and a reduction in balance.
Now that patients are getting older, they may experience similar problems of aging as the general population, one of those problems is decreases balance and increased risk of falling. Many of the tests used to measure balance are used on older people ages 65 and over. However, many of the persons with haemophilia are much younger experiencing this joint damage and the consequences.
This study will investigate the use of the Four-Square Step test (FSST) and whether it is a useful outcome measure to evaluate balance in patients with haemophilia. In the study a selection of patients with different haemophilia severity types will be assessed using various outcome measured already used, to see how they relate to each other and which may be more useful to use in clinical practice and further research studies.REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 1
REC reference
20/ES/0074
Date of REC Opinion
20 Aug 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion