Reliability of the Spinal Cord Assessment Tool for Spastic Reflexes.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the reliability of the Spinal Cord Assessment Tool for Spastic Reflexes (SCATS). DESIGN: Observational reliability study of the SCATS. SETTING: Inpatient rehabilitation unit at an education and research hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Subjects (N=47) between the ages of 18 and 88 years with spinal cord injury (SCI) and with American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale grades from A to D with spasticity, who were at least 6 months postinjury. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Interrater and test-retest reliability of the SCATS. RESULTS: The SCATS had substantial to almost perfect interrater agreement (κ=.669-1.000) between the 2 physiatrists. Test-retest agreement of the SCATS was also substantial to almost perfect (κ=.614-1.000) as well. There was a significant correlation between the SCATS clonus scores and the Modified Ashworth scores of the hip, knee, and ankle. No correlation was found between SCATS extensor spasm scores and Modified Ashworth scores. The SCATS flexor spasm scores were only correlated significantly with the ankle plantar flexor Modified Ashworth scores (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: The SCATS is a reliable tool for assessing spasm activity and spastic hypertonia in patients with SCI.

Reliability and cross-cultural adaptation of the Turkish version of the Spinal Cord Injury Spasticity Evaluation Tool.

The Spinal Cord Injury Spasticity Evaluation Tool is a 7-day recall self-reported questionnaire that assesses the problematic and useful effects of spasticity on daily life in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). We aimed to determine the reliability and cross-cultural validation of the Turkish translation of the Spinal Cord Injury Spasticity Evaluation Tool (SCI-SETT). After translation and back translation of the Spinal Cord Injury Spasticity Evaluation Tool, 66 patients between the ages of 18 and 88 years with SCI, American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale grades from A to D with spasticity, and at least 6 months after injury were assessed. Participants rated the SCI-SETT at the same time period of the day, 1 week apart, and test-retest agreement was investigated. Also, the Penn Spasm Frequency Scale, self-assessment of spasticity severity, self-assessment of spasticity impact, Functional Independence Measure motor subscale, and 36-Item Short Form Health Survey were assessed for the evaluation of the convergent validity. There were 45 participants with tetraplegia and 21 patients with paraplegia. The test-retest reliability for the SCI-SETT was good. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.80 at 95% confidence interval. There were no significant correlations between the SCI-SETT scores and Functional Independence Measure motor subscale and Penn Spasm Frequency Scale scores. There was a significant correlation between the SCI-SETT scores and vitality scores of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey. The SCI-SETT showed statistically significant correlations with other measures including self-assessed spasticity severity and self-assessed spasticity impact (P<0.05). The SCI-SETT is a reliable self-rating tool for assessing spasticity in patients with SCI in the Turkish population.

Assessment of sexual dysfunction before and after surgery for lumbar disc herniation.

Object Sexuality is an important aspect of human life. Sexual activity may be affected in lumbar disc herniation through different mechanisms. The aim of this study is to evaluate patients' sexual problems and sexual behavior patterns before and after surgical treatment of lumbar disc herniation. Methods Forty-three patients were included in the study (mean age 41.4 years). A visual analog scale, the Oswestry Disability Index, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and a sexuality assessment questionnaire developed for this study were administered to the patients to evaluate pain and sexual dysfunction. Results Fifty-five percent of the men and 84% of the women reported experiencing sexual problems after the onset of low-back pain. The most common sexual problems were decreased sexual desire (18%) and premature ejaculation together with erectile dysfunction (18%) for the male patients, and decreased sexual desire (47%) for the female patients. The frequency of sexual intercourse before the operation was reduced in 78% of cases compared with the pain-free period. Postoperatively, the patients first attempted sexual intercourse a mean of 26.5 days after surgery. The frequency of intercourse was found to have increased (p = 0.01), while description of any type of sexual problem had decreased (p = 0.005) significantly. Conclusions Lumbar disc herniation has negative effects on sexual life, and not enough attention is given to the patients' sexual problems by the physicians. Decreased sexual desire and decreased sexual intercourse are the most commonly reported problems. Taking time during examination and giving simple recommendations may improve sexuality and life quality of the patients.