Objectives: A clinical protocol was developed for clinicians to routinely assess and initiate treatment for patients with neuropathic pain (NP) in an acute care setting. The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the incidence and onset of NP in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury during acute care and (2) describe how the implementation of a clinical protocol impacts the assessment and diagnosis of NP.
Materials And Methods: The study was a cohort analysis with a pre-post-test utilizing a historical control.
Background: It is not known whether ongoing access to a broad-based Internet knowledge resource can influence the practice of health care providers. We undertook a study to evaluate the impact of a Web-based knowledge resource on increasing access to evidence and facilitating best practice of health care providers.
Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate (1) the impact of the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Evidence (SCIRE) project on access to information for health care providers and researchers and (2) how SCIRE influenced health care providers' management of clients.
The development of a process to select the best residents for training programs is challenging. There is a paucity of literature to support the implementation of an evidence-based approach or even best practice for program directors and selection committees. Although assessment of traditional academic markers such as clerkship grades and licensing examination scores can be helpful, these measures typically fail to capture performance in the noncognitive domains of medicine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To conduct a systematic review of published research on the pharmacologic treatment of pain after spinal cord injury (SCI).
Data Sources: MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases were searched for articles published 1980 to June 2009 addressing the treatment of pain post SCI. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were assessed for methodologic quality using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) assessment scale, whereas non-RCTs were assessed by using the Downs and Black (D&B) evaluation tool.
Objective: To describe the neurologic outcomes of 29 spinal epidural abscess (SEA) patients after rehabilitation compared with a case-controlled traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) cohort.
Design: Five-year retrospective chart review.
Setting: University-affiliated surgical spine unit and inpatient rehabilitation program.
Objective: To provide a systematic review of the studies assessing exercise training and inspiratory muscle training (IMT) in individuals for the improved respiratory function of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI).
Methods: Thirteen studies (5 exercise training, 8 IMT) were identified. Articles were scored for their methodological quality using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database scores and Downs and Black tools for randomized and nonrandomized studies, respectively.
Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI).
Design: A 2-week methodologic study was conducted to assess the internal consistency, reliability, and construct validity of the FSS.
Setting: A tertiary spinal cord rehabilitation facility.
Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil
January 2007
The Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Evidence (SCIRE) is a synthesis of the research evidence underlying rehabilitation interventions to improve the health of people living with SCI. SCIRE covers a comprehensive set of topics and in this issue we present six papers relevant to SCI rehabilitation clinicians (SCI inpatient rehabilitation practices, gait strategies, upper extremity reconstructive surgery, spasticity treatments, cardiovascular health and bone health). The SCIRE used a systematic and well-defined protocol to assess and synthesize the evidence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF