Citation

Mulcahey MJ, Gaughan J, Betz RR, Johansen KJ. Spinal Cord 2007; 45(6): 452–459.

Affiliation

Rehabilitation and Clinical Research, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Philadelphia Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, International Spinal Cord Society, Publisher Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1038/sj.sc.3101987

PMID

17016490

Abstract

Study design: Intra-rater reliability study, cross-sectional design. Objectives:To determine reliability of the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISCSCI) motor and sensory exam in children. Setting:Nonprofit pediatric hospital. Methods:In all, 74 subjects had two trials of the motor and sensory exams. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), 95% confidence intervals (CI) were generated for total motor (TM), pin prick (PP) and light touch (LT) scores for the entire sample, four age groups, severity and type of injury. Coefficients >0.90=high reliability; 0.75-0.90=moderate reliability and <0.75=inadequate reliability.Results:Children 0.90 except for TM in complete injuries (0.808). Conclusion:The ISCSCI exams may have poor utility in children under 4 years. While reliability values for the motor and sensory exams met or exceeded recommended values, wide CI suggest poor precision of the motor exam in children under 15 years of age and sensory exams in children under 5 years.

Language: en