title: Functional capacity scale in assessment of patients with intracranial aneurysms: reliability and validity.
abstract: The aim of the study was to investigate the use of the Functional Capacity Scale (FCS) to measure functional outcome of patients who had undergone surgical removal of an intracranial aneurysm in the early postoperative period. Reliability and validity of the tool were tested as well as its utility in nursing practice. The study included 120 patients, operated on for intracranial aneurysm. Phase I included 23 patients. Reliability of FCS and the amount of time used for the assessment were tested using observation and direct measurement methods. Phase II included 97 patients, and the tool was administered along with standard outcome assessment tools (Barthel Index, Functional Index "Repty," Glasgow Outcome Score, and Rankin Scale) to determine concurrent validity. Kendall's coefficients of concordance (W) between particular care markers of FCS ranged from 0.910 to 1.000. Mean amount of time used for assessment was 90 seconds. Differences between time used for measurements by individual examiners were insignificant (p > .05). Correlation of FCS with the following scales was statistically significant: Functional Index "Repty" (p < .001), Glasgow Outcome Score (p < .01), Rankin Scale (p < .01), and Barthel Index (p < .001). The FCS appears to be a reliable, valid, and practical assessment tool for neuroscience nurses to use with patients who have undergone surgical removal of an intracranial aneurysm.
authors.affiliation: Questions or comments about this article may be directed to Robert Ślusarz, RN MA CNS PhD, at zpielnin@cm.umk.pl. He is a Clinical Nursing Specialist in Neurological and Neurosurgical Nursing and Head of the Neurological and Neurosurgical Nursing Department,Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland. Monika Biercewicz, MA RN CNS, is an Assistant at the Clinic of Geriatrics, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland. Roksana Rybicka, MA, is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Applied Linguistics, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland. Author contributions: Robert Ślusarz was responsible for the study conception and design. Robert Ślusarz, Monika Biercewicz, and Roksana Rybicka made critical revisions to the article for important intellectual content. Ethics approval: To conduct the research, the consent of the Bioethical Commission of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, was obtained (Consent no. KB: 27/2002, 697/2007). The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Slusarz
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Biercewicz
authors.forename: Roksana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rybicka
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000145:classification*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000451:nursing* / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011044:Poland; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000451:nursing*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult