Changes in electrical perception threshold within the first 6 months after traumatic spinal cord injury: a multicenter responsiveness study

Hubertus van Hedel, Hatice Kumru, Frank Röhrich, Sujay Galen

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    12 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The objective was to assess the reliability of the electrical perception threshold (EPT) in healthy participants and its responsiveness in patients for 6 months after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). The methods were the reliability of EPT measures was assessed in 15 healthy volunteers (from C3 to S2). EPT measures were assessed in 37 patients at 1, 3, and 6 months after SCI. EPT was determined in dermatomes at, above, and below the neurological level of lesion. Reliability was quantified with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and responsiveness with the standardized response mean (SRM). Dermatomes were classified as having normal or pathological sensory perception, based on both light touch (LT) and EPT testing. The percentage of agreement between LT and EPT classifications was determined. The results showed the ICCs varied considerably between dermatomes (0.00 ≤ ICC ≤ 0.86). Overall, EPTs changed little within the first 6 months after SCI, resulting in small SRM values. Agreement between classifications according to EPT or LT testing varied from 30% to 100%. The least agreement was observed in the first segment below the lesion. The conclusion was that Future studies must note that the reliability of EPT differs between dermatomes in healthy participants. Furthermore, at and below the level of the lesion, spontaneous recovery of sensory perception is poor within the first 6 months after SCI. Based on subgroup analyses, if a translational trial aims to improve sensory perception around the level of the lesion, sensory-incomplete tetraplegic patients could be included. These patients show poor spontaneous recovery, and the EPT may detect subtle changes in perception.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)497-506
    Number of pages10
    JournalNeurorehabilitation and Neural Repair
    Volume26
    Issue number5
    Early online date16 Dec 2011
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jun 2012

    Keywords

    • spinal cord injury
    • electrical perception threshold
    • neurorehabilitation
    • responsiveness study
    • outcome measure
    • EPT
    • reliability
    • responsiveness
    • light touch
    • sensory function
    • recovery

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