Journal of neurotrauma
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Journal of neurotrauma · Nov 2008
Review Meta AnalysisMotor and sensory assessment of patients in clinical trials for pharmacological therapy of acute spinal cord injury: psychometric properties of the ASIA Standards.
With the resurgence of clinical trials in spinal cord injury (SCI), there is intense interest in whether the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) standards are sensitive enough to discriminate neurological recovery. We conducted a systematic review to examine the psychometric properties of the ASIA Standards in assessing motor and sensory function of individuals with acute traumatic SCI. Papers, which examined the psychometric properties of the ASIA Standards, were obtained from Medline, CINAHL, and EMBASE databases (1982-2008). ⋯ Although the ASIA Standards cannot be evaluated in terms of criterion validity, several studies suggested their divergent and convergent construct validity. Therefore, the ASIA Standards represent an appropriate instrument to discriminate and evaluate patients with SCI in a longitudinal manner. Nonetheless, further investigation of the ASIA Standards is recommended due to a paucity of studies focused on some key elements of the measurement responsiveness, including minimal clinically important difference.