[Comparison between different calculation methods of limbs joints function].

Area of Science:

• Forensic Medicine
• Orthopedics
• Disability Assessment

Background:

• Accurate assessment of limb joint function is crucial for disability evaluations in forensic and clinical settings.
• Existing methods for evaluating joint function loss, such as simple joint mobility and table methods, may yield different results.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness and rationality of different methods for assessing limb joint function.
• To analyze the impact of peripheral nerve injury on disability evaluations using various assessment techniques.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 806 cases from Fujian Minzhong Forensic Appraisal Center (2007-2010) involving large limb joint injuries.
• Calculation of joint function loss using the simple joint mobility method and the table method from 'Forensic Clinical Judicial Authentication Practice'.
• Comparative analysis of disability evaluation results between the two methods across different joint types and injury patterns.

Main Results:

• In simple joint injuries without nerve damage, both methods yielded identical disability evaluations.
• In cases with peripheral nerve injury, the table method identified higher disability degrees in 28% of cases compared to the simple joint mobility method.
• The simple joint mobility method failed to classify 17.80% of cases with peripheral nerve injury as disabled, whereas the table method did.

Conclusions:

• The direct table method provides a more scientific, reasonable, and potentially easier approach to evaluating limb function loss.
• The table method is particularly advantageous in cases involving peripheral nerve injuries, leading to more comprehensive disability assessments.