Physical Function Recovery Trajectories following Spinal Cord Injury

Disability trajectories individuals with spinal cord injury in mainland China: do psychosocial resources and diseases factors predict trajectories?

STUDY DESIGN

Observational cohort study.

OBJECTIVE

To identify classes of disability trajectories from 1 month post-injury (acute hospital) to 6 months post-injury (individuals with SCI individuals who stay in rehabilitation setting or back in the community), and to investigate whether psychosocial resources and disease factors can predict disability trajectory.

SETTING

Spinal surgery in three Class III hospitals. Hospitals in China are divided into three classes (Class I, II and III).

METHODS

All the participants were submitted to WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHO-DAS 2.0) at three times; and personal data anamnesis, level of hope, level of PTSD, level of social support were recorded at first time. All the data collected by the master's students who participated in this study.

RESULTS

Two disability trajectories were identified using the latent class growth model: the continuous high disability group (N = 196, 93.3%) and the low starting point stabilization group (N = 14, 6.7%). Complete injury(ASIA-A) with SCI and more depression in the stable condition after SCI surgery were more likely to be classified as having higher disability than those with a lower disability trajectory. Occupation, annual family income, hope, social support, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) cannot predict individuals belonging to trajectory classes.

CONCLUSION

These findings emphasize the importance of ASIA and depression in the early recovery stage after SCI and support the opinion that strengthening psychological nursing and rehabilitation management at an early stage after SCI will benefit individuals with a lower disability trajectory.

The Role of Upper Extremity Motor Function in the Choice of Bladder Management in Those Unable to Volitionally Void due to Neurologic Dysfunction

It is estimated that 425,000 individuals with neurologic bladder dysfunction (spinal cordinjury, spina bifida and multiple sclerosis) are unable to volitionally void and must rely oncatheter drainage. Upper extremity (UE) motor function is one of the most important factors indetermining the type of bladder management chosen in individuals who cannot volitionally void. Novel bladder management solutions for those with impaired UE motor function and concurrent impairments involitional voiding continue to be an area of need. Those with poor UE motor function more often choose an indwelling catheter, whereas those with normal UE motor function more often choose clean intermittent catheterization.

Evaluations of virtual exercise programmes for adults with mobility limitations: a scoping review protocol incorporating an equity lens to inform the development of strategies to optimise participation of under-represented groups

INTRODUCTION

For individuals with mobility limitations, virtual exercise programmes can address the challenges of in-person participation in community exercise programmes. A synthesis of studies of virtual exercise programmes targeting mobility limitations provided outside of conventional rehabilitation services and strategies used to optimise equitable access and inclusivity in these programmes is lacking. We aim to characterise evaluations of virtual exercise programmes for adults with mobility limitations, and the nature of and extent to which equity, diversity and inclusion considerations are integrated in the research process.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

A scoping review following a six-stage methodological framework, including a consultation exercise, is proposed. A comprehensive strategy will be used to search Medline, Embase, PEDro, CINAHL and Scopus to identify peer-reviewed studies evaluating virtual exercise programmes for adults with mobility limitations living in the community. Three trained reviewers will select studies independently. Data (eg, study methodology, programme structure and content, participant characteristics) will be extracted using a standardised form, and collated and summarised using quantitative and qualitative methods. The PROGRESS-Plus and International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health frameworks will be used to classify participant characteristics and study outcomes, respectively. During the consultation exercise, key knowledge users, including exercise participants, programme providers and coordinators, and members of community organisations for persons living with disabilities and under-represented groups, will be asked to provide insights regarding the applicability of review findings. A directed content analysis of data from the consultation exercise will be performed.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The research ethics board at the University of Toronto approved the consultation exercise. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. Findings will enhance understanding of current research evaluating virtual exercise programmes and inform future research and strategies for promoting equitable access and outcomes for individuals with mobility limitations.

REGISTRATION DETAILS

https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/X5JMA.

Revisiting functioning recovery in persons with spinal cord injury undergoing first rehabilitation: Trajectory and network analysis of a Swiss cohort study

Information about an individual's functioning and its longitudinal development is key to informing clinical rehabilitation. However, the description and understanding of the detailed longitudinal course of functioning, i.e., functioning trajectories, is rare in the current SCI literature. The aim of this study was to re-estimate previously identified functioning trajectories of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) undergoing initial rehabilitation in Switzerland using trajectory analysis, and to identify highly influential functioning domains that could become trajectory-specific targets for clinical interventions using network analysis. The study was based on data from the Swiss SCI Cohort Study and included individuals with SCI (N = 1099) who completed their rehabilitation in one of four collaborating centers between May 2013 and March 2022. For the trajectory analysis, functioning was operationalized using the total sum score of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure version III (SICM III), which was assessed at up to four time points (T1-T4) during rehabilitation. For the network analysis, individual SCIM III items were used to operationalize relevant functioning problems at T1 (admission) and T4 (discharge). The re-estimation of trajectory analysis confirmed the previously identified mean functioning trajectory classes of stable high functioning (N = 239; 21.75%), early (N = 33; 3.00%), moderate (N = 753; 68.52%), and slow (N = 74; 6.73%) functioning improvement. The network analysis revealed highly connected functioning problems at T1 for the moderate functioning improvement class, including "Feeding", "Dressing upper body", and "Dressing lower body", "Mobility in bed", and "Use of toilet". These functioning domains might indicate potential trajectory-specific targets for clinical interventions. This study has increased our knowledge about functioning trajectories of individuals with SCI undergoing initial rehabilitation in Switzerland and its findings may inform discussions about the application and use of functioning trajectories in clinical practice. Due to the exploratory nature of this study, further research is needed to confirm the findings presented.

Overview of the Spinal Cord Injury-Functional Index (SCI-FI): Structure and Recent Advances

The Spinal Cord Injury - Functional Index is a system of patient reported outcomes (PRO) measures of functional activities developed specifically with and for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The SCI-FI was designed to overcome limitations in measurement of the full range of activities and breadth of content of physical functioning commonly used in SCI research. Generic measurement tools of physical function (i.e., those focused on the general population) tend to overemphasize mobility and do not contain enough items at the lower end of the functional range (e.g., appropriate for individuals with tetraplegia). The SCI-FI consists of nine item response theory (IRT)-calibrated item banks that represent relevant and meaningful item content for individuals with SCI, span a wide range of functional abilities, and subdivide physical functioning into important subdomains, including basic mobility, self-care, and fine motor function. Since the original publication of the SCI-FI in 2012, there have been significant advances in and publications on the reliability and psychometric properties of the measures. The manuscripts presented in this special section clarify the SCI-FI structure and present new research on the SCI-FI measurement system.