Reliability of the International Spinal Cord Injury Upper Extremity Basic Data Set.

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Clinical Psychometrics
• Spinal Cord Injury Research

Background:

• Accurate assessment of upper extremity function is crucial for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI).
• The International Spinal Cord Injury Upper Extremity Basic Data Set (ISCI-UE) was developed to standardize this evaluation.
• Assessing the reliability of the ISCI-UE is essential for its widespread clinical adoption and research utility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the inter-rater reliability of the International Spinal Cord Injury Upper Extremity Basic Data Set (ISCI-UE).
• To determine the consistency of assessments performed by different raters using the ISCI-UE in individuals with cervical SCI.

Main Methods:

• A psychometric study involving 60 participants with subacute and chronic cervical spinal cord injury (SCI).
• Two blinded examiners independently assessed five components of the ISCI-UE: reach/grasp, shoulder function, adaptive device use, complications, and reconstructive surgery.
• Inter-rater reliability was quantified using quadratic weighted kappa.

Main Results:

• The study included 60 participants (52 male, mean age 42.9 years) with a median of 9.5 months post-injury.
• High inter-rater reliability was observed across all ISCI-UE components, with kappa values ranging from 0.74 (complications) to 1.00 (surgery).
• Specifically, agreement was almost perfect for reach/grasp (0.98) and shoulder function (0.97).

Conclusions:

• The International Spinal Cord Injury Upper Extremity Basic Data Set (ISCI-UE) exhibits very good to almost perfect inter-rater reliability.
• The ISCI-UE is a reliable tool for assessing upper extremity function in individuals with cervical spinal cord injury.
• This finding supports the use of ISCI-UE in clinical practice and research for consistent SCI upper extremity evaluations.