Korean guideline development for the evaluation of permanent impairment of the spine: proposal by the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences Committee.
The criteria for the evaluation of spinal impairment are diverse, complex, and have no standardized form. This makes it difficult and somewhat troublesome to accurately evaluate spinal impairment patients. A standardized guideline was studied for the evaluation of spinal impairment, based on the American Medical Association (AMA) Guides and the McBride method. This guideline proposal was developed by specialty medical societies under the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences. In this study, the grades of impairment were assessed by dividing patients into three different categories: spinal cord impairment, spinal injury impairment and spinal disorder impairment. The affected regions of the spine are divided into three: the cervical region, the thoracic region, and the lumbosacral region. The grade of impairment was differentially evaluated according to the affected region. The restricted range of motion was excluded in the evaluation spinal impairment because of low objectivity. Even though the new Korean guideline for the evaluation of spinal impairment has been proposed, it should be continuously supplemented and revised.
Kim
Young-Baeg
YB
Department of Neurosurgery, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea.
Lee
Sang-Gu
SG
Park
Chan-Woo
CW
Kim
Dong-Jun
DJ
Park
Youn-Kwan
YK
Sung
Nak-Jung
NJ
Ahn
Sang-Ho
SH
Ahn
Jae-Sung
JS
Shin
Hee-Suk
HS
Lee
Bum-Suk
BS
Kim
Jin-Hyok
JH
Jeon
Chang-Hoon
CH
D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D016730:Program Development; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*