The performance of a limited set of items from the Functional Independence Measure for use in acute trauma care and rehabilitation.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the performance of a limited set of three items from the Functional Independence Measure--eating, walking, and expression--(henceforth referred to as the Set) for use in acute trauma care and rehabilitation.


METHODS
Retrospective comparison of the Set-scores (3-item total) to the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores in 83 consecutive patients with a primary diagnosis related to trauma (90% of those eligible) over a 2-year period, on an acute rehabilitation unit in a tertiary care university hospital.


METHODS
The age distributions of gender and diagnostic categories were examined. The sensitivity and specificity of the Set-score in detecting changes in the FIM were evaluated across a range of cut-off values. Correlation between FIM scores and Set-scores at admission, at discharge, and for interval change were assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient. Sources of the Set's weaknesses were explored.


RESULTS
Age distribution reflects the predisposition of older women to hip fractures and males to the other trauma. No degree of change in the Set-score provided a combination of sensitivity and specificity satisfactory for detecting potentially important changes in the FIM. Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) for Set-scores and FIM scores on admission and discharge were both .12. The ICC for the interval change data was .11. (95% confidence limits:--.11 to .34).


CONCLUSIONS
This Set is not a useful measure of functional disability in a heterogeneous population of trauma patients.
Mortifee
P R
PR
Division of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Busser
J
J
Anton
H A
HA
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D003625:Data Collection; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy; D014193:Trauma Centers; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000628:therapy