Article

OBJECTIVE: To assess the test-retest reliability and
discriminative validity of a 14-item manual wheelchair circuit adapted from
previous research (AMWC). DESIGN: Two AMWC trials per subject completed within 15
days. SETTING: Two clinical research and 3 rehabilitation centers. PARTICIPANTS:
Convenience sample of individuals with spinal cord injury (N=50) from centers in
the United States (n=38) and the Netherlands (n=12). Mean age +/- SD was 46+/-13
years, and mean injury duration +/- SD was 12+/-11 years. Fifteen had cervical
injuries, and 42 were men. INTERVENTIONS: An existing 8-task manual wheelchair
circuit was modified to remove the need for a wheelchair treadmill and expanded
to 14 tasks to attenuate floor and ceiling effects: 5 original tasks-figure-of-8,
.012-m doorstep crossing, .10-m platform, 15-m sprint, and making a level
transfer; 3 modified tasks-3% and 6% ramp, and 3-minute overground wheeling; and
6 new tasks-.04-m doorstep crossing, propelling over artificial grass,
opening/closing a door, 3% side slope, holding a wheelie for 10 seconds, and
propelling in a wheelie. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Reliability of the primary
outcomes, sum ability score (sum of all tasks; 0-14 [no.]) and sum performance
time (figure-of-8 + sprint + grass; 0-360 [s]), was determined by intraclass
correlation coefficients (ICCs) for the whole sample and paraplegia (PP) and
tetraplegia (TP) subsets. Independent t tests compared PP and TP trial 1 sum
ability score and sum performance time. RESULTS: Sum ability and sum performance
time ICCs exceeded .90 for the full sample and the PP/TP subsets. Sum ability was
higher for PP than TP (PP, 12.9+/-1.2; TP, 9.8+/-2.8; P<.00),
and sum performance
times were lower for PP than TP (20.0+/-4.0s vs 32.0+/-1.97s, P<.00).
CONCLUSIONS: AMWC primary outcomes, sum ability score and sum performance time,
are reliable and discriminate between TP and PP.
CI - Copyright (c) 2011 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS