Sensitivity to change and responsiveness of the Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control (SATCo) in children with spinal cord injury

• Published in: Developmental neurorehabilitation Vol. 22; no. 4; pp. 260 - 271
• Main Authors: Argetsinger, Laura C., Trimble, Shelley A., Roberts, MacKenzie T., Thompson, Jennifer E., Ugiliweneza, Beatrice, Behrman, Andrea L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 19.05.2019
• Subjects: spinal cord injury; trunk control; spinal cord injury; trunk control
• ISSN: 1751-8423; 1751-8431
• DOI: 10.1080/17518423.2018.1475429

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the sensitivity and responsiveness of the Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control (SATCo) for evaluating trunk control in children with spinal cord injury (SCI) receiving activity-based locomotor training (AB-LT). Methods: Prospective study of nine outcomes for consecutively enrolled children in outpatient AB-LT. To evaluate sensitivity to change, linear-mixed models were constructed and adjusted for covariates: age at and time since SCI. To evaluate responsiveness, standardized response means and 95% confidence intervals were estimated per outcome. Results: SATCo scores increased significantly (p < 0.05) regardless of chronicity, initial score, and injury level. The SATCo was the most responsive measure and the only outcome demonstrating a large effect size after 3 months of therapy. Conclusions: Children with SCI receiving AB-LT improved trunk control regardless of chronicity, initial impairment, or prior experience. SATCo sensitivity and responsiveness support its usefulness in measuring trunk control in children with SCI.