Validity and reliability of the Selective Control of the Upper Extremity Scale in children with upper motor neuron...

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Neuroscience
• Pediatric Neurology

Background:

• Upper motor neuron lesions can significantly impair selective voluntary motor control in the upper extremities of children.
• Accurate and reliable assessment tools are crucial for tracking functional recovery and guiding rehabilitation strategies in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the validity and reliability of the Selective Control of the Upper Extremity Scale (SCUES) sum and item scores in pediatric patients with upper motor neuron lesions.
• To establish the concurrent and discriminative validity of the SCUES.
• To assess the intra-, inter-, and test-retest reliability of the SCUES.

Main Methods:

• The study included 46 children (31 boys, 15 girls) with upper motor neuron lesions.
• Concurrent validity was assessed by correlating SCUES scores with the Melbourne Assessment 2 (MA2) and Box and Block Test (BBT).
• Discriminative validity was determined by comparing scores between the more and less affected sides. Reliability was measured using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and smallest detectable changes (SDC).

Main Results:

• SCUES sum scores demonstrated strong correlations with MA2 (ρ = 0.83) and BBT (ρ = 0.77) for the more affected side.
• High reliability was observed for intra-rater (ICC = 0.93), inter-rater (ICC = 0.86), and test-retest (ICC = 0.98) assessments.
• Single item reliability varied (inter-rater elbow: 0.64 to intra-rater elbow: 0.98), and limb/item scores were lower for the more affected side.

Conclusions:

• The SCUES is a valid and reliable tool for assessing selective voluntary motor control in children with upper motor neuron lesions.
• The scale demonstrates excellent test-retest reliability and acceptable reliability for single items.
• Clinicians should consider scoring patients twice with the same rater to maximize reliability, and limb/item scores are significantly lower for the more affected side.