Validity and internal consistency of the French version of the revised Skin Management Needs Assessment Checklist in people with spinal cord injury.

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional psychometrics study. OBJECTIVES: To determine the construct validity and internal consistency of the revised Skin Management Needs Assessment Checklist (revised SMnac). SETTING: Six spinal cord rehabilitation centers. METHODS: One-hundred and thirty-two community-dwelling individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) were included. Construct validity was assessed by a Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between the revised SMnac and several questionnaires: Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Ways of Coping Questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Braden scale; or clinical variables: educational level, presence of a pressure ulcer (PU), history of multiple PUs, time since injury, and pain. RESULTS: The study evidenced construct validity with a fair to moderate correlation coefficient between the revised SMnac and Rosenberg scale (rs = 0.25; p = 0.03), active coping (rs = 0.29; p = 0.001), HADS (rs = -0.43; p < 0.0001), and time since injury (rs = 0.49; p < 0.0001). The presence of PU and history of multiple PUs were strongly correlated with the revised SMnac score (respectively, p = 0.01 and 0.001). Internal consistency was excellent (α = 0.907). CONCLUSION: These results show that the revised SMnac is a valid tool to assess PU self-management in individuals with SCI. Further studies are needed to assess the revised SMnac's responsiveness to change.

Tendon transfers as applied to tetraplegia.

The techniques of the tendon transfers that are used primarily for the functional rehabilitation of upper limbs in tetraplegia are described in this article. The restoration of active elbow extension can be obtained either by biceps-to-triceps or by deltoid-to-triceps transfers. Grasp and key grip can be restored either by active or by passive tendon transfers. The usual motors of active transfer are the BR and ECRL. The usual tenodesis involve the FDS (via lassos), EDC, EPL, FPL, and APL.