title: Excellent reliability of the Sollerman hand function test for patients with burned hands.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to identify the minimal detectable change (MDC) of the Sollerman hand function test (SHT) for patients with burned hands. Twelve subjects were studied, giving a total of 21 burned hands (10 right hands and 11 left hands). Each subject received two sessions of SHT assessment, held at 7- to 10-day intervals. Three raters were recruited to observe and assign scores for the patients' performance during the tests. The MDC was calculated based on standard measurement error, and the intraclass correlation coefficient was applied to examine relative reliability. Results showed that both intra- and interrater MDCs were acceptable (6.7 and 6.9 points, respectively) and that both intra- and interrater relative reliabilities were excellent (intraclass correlation coefficients = 0.98). According to this study, the SHT was found to have appropriate MDC and relative reliability in monitoring changes over time for patients with burned hands. The MDCs of SHT calculated in this study are useful in determining whether any change in score is the result of more than random error.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Li-Yao
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.forename: Ching-Lin
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: Kwang-Yi
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Tung
authors.forename: Tzyy-Jiuan
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yu-Chih
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Ou
authors.forename: Li-Ru
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Shiun-Lei
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Ban
authors.forename: Wei-Wei
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chin-Feng
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002056:Burns / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006230:Hand Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results