Search

Study Design: Psychometric study. Objectives: To cross-culturally adapt the spinal cord injury-falls concern scale (SCI-FCS) to the Brazilian Portuguese language and to evaluate its measurement properties. Setting: SARAH Network of Rehabilitation Hospitals, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Methods: The SCI-FCS was translated and culturally adapted to the Brazilian- Portuguese language, following recommended guidelines. The following measurement properties were verified: internal consistency (Cronbach’s α), test–retest reliability (ICC and quadratic-weighted kappa coefficients), and construct validity (Rasch analysis). Results: One-hundred and thirty individuals participated. The median SCI-FCS-Brazil score was 27 (22–34). The Cronbach’s α was 0.95; ICC was 0.92 (95% CI, 0.86–0.95) for the total test–retest scores, and the Kappa coefficients ranged from 0.04 to 0.87 (95% CI, 0.01–1) for the item-level reliability. Rasch analysis reliability index was 0.81 and 0.98 and the separation index was 2.10 and 6.25 for the persons and items, respectively. Both items and persons fitted the statistics model’s expectations, ensuring its unidimensionality. Conclusions: The SCI-FCS-Brazil showed adequate measurement properties. Its use in manual wheelchair users with SCI is recommended to help defining rehabilitation strategies.

Study design: Retrospective study Objectives: To describe the epidemiological and clinical profile in a retrospective chart review of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and osteoporosis-related fractures. Setting: A Brazilian rehabilitation hospital. Methods: This is a retrospective chart review that included 325 individuals with SCI and osteoporosis-related fractures who were admitted to a Brazilian rehabilitation hospital between January 1997 and December 2017. Results: Overall, 52% were males with a mean (SD) age of 44.8 (±16.7) years at the time of first fracture. Overall, 82% had paraplegia and 56% had a thoracic neurological level. The mean (SD) time between SCI and fracture was 9.7 (±9.3) years. In 59% of cases the immediate cause of the fracture was a fall. The locations of the fractures were distal femur (27%), proximal femur (27%), and tibia and/or distal fibula (28%). The fractures occurred mostly at home (63%). Complications occurred in 19% of individuals and 25% reported worse performance in activities of daily living and 29% a deterioration in ambulation after they had recovered from the fracture. A second fracture was described in 15% of individuals, and five individuals had a third fracture. The mean (SD) level of 25 hydroxyvitamin D [25 (OH) D] was 25.6 (±15.2) ng/ml, and only 11 individuals (3%) underwent dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), and 26 individuals (8%) were treated with antiresorptive drugs after fracture. Conclusion: Little is done to prevent fractures in individuals with SCI and understanding the clinical and epidemiological profiles will help identify risk factors and establish prevention programs and appropriate treatment.

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.