International Spinal Cord Injury Physical Therapy-Occupational Therapy Basic Data Set (Version 1.2)

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation medicine
• Clinical trial methodology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Standardized documentation of physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) interventions is crucial for clinical trials evaluating motor function recovery in spinal cord injury (SCI).
• Existing documentation methods may lack uniformity, hindering comparative analysis across studies.
• A need exists for a practical and efficient data set to capture PT-OT interventions in SCI research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and refine a basic data set for standardized documentation of PT and OT interventions in SCI clinical trials.
• To create a tool that facilitates the evaluation of rehabilitation therapies aimed at improving voluntary motor function.
• To ensure the dataset is efficient and practical for use in clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• An international working group of experts in SCI, PT, OT, and measurement was convened.
• The International Spinal Cord Injury (ISCI) Physical Therapy-Occupational Therapy (PT-OT) Basic Data Set (BDS) was drafted.
• The BDS was iteratively refined using literature reviews and feedback from international SCI conferences (2017, 2019).

Main Results:

• The ISCI PT-OT BDS includes seven intervention categories: bed/seated mobility, standing activities, walking/stairs, gross and fine motor upper extremity, strength training, and endurance training.
• Interventions are classified as activity-directed (first five categories) or impairment-directed (last two).
• Time spent on interventions is recorded in 15-minute intervals.

Conclusions:

• The ISCI PT-OT BDS provides a standardized method for documenting PT-OT interventions in SCI clinical trials.
• This data set supports the evaluation of rehabilitation therapies' impact on motor function.
• The BDS is a valuable documentation tool for research involving biologic, pharmacologic, or technological interventions for SCI.