Objective
To evaluate the correlation between the K-BBS (Korean version of Berg balance scale), a tool for assessing balance, with the WISCI (walking index for spinal cord injury), and SCIM (spinal cord independence measure) in patients with post-acute spinal cord injuries. In addition, the difference in the K-BBS, WISCI, SCIM according to the degree of severity of the SEP (somatosensory evoked potential) findings of the posterior tibial nerve was analyzed in these patients. Method: Thirty patients with post-acute spinal cord injuries were assessed with the K-BBS, WISCI, and SCIM every other week until discharge. A posterior tibial SEP study was recorded at the beginning of rehabilitation. Delayed latency or small amplitude in the SEP on one or both sides was regarded as the mild group, and non-evoked SEP on both sides was regarded as the severe group. Improvement in walking was based on the change in the scores from admission to discharge. The statistical analysis included the non-parametric Spearman rank correlation and t-test; p＜ 0.05 Results: The assessment scales showed a high correlation between the K-BBS, WISCI, and SCIM (p＜0.05). The relationship between the K-BBS and WISCI was specifically strong (r=0.936). Moreover, there was a significant difference in the scores of the K-BBS, WISCI, and SCIM according to the severity of the SEP (p＜0.05). Conclusion: The findings of a statistical correlation of the K-BBS and the posterior tibial SEP with the WISCI and SCIM provides strong support for their use as outcome measures. (J Korean Acad Rehab Med 2010; 34: 513-517)

Objective
The aim of this study was to investigate the suitability of the Revised version of the Korean Spinal Cord Independence Measure (KSCIM-R), which is a functional evaluation tool for spinal cord injury. Method: Thirty patients with spinal cord injury were enrolled. The KSCIM was modified to as KSCIM-R. Inter- rater reliability and relative sensitivity of KSCIM-R were evaluated by two raters, biweekly. Results: The Kappa coefficient of the various individual tasks in the KSCIM-R ranged between 0.71 and 0.95 (mean: 0.82), which was higher than the previous version, KSCIM. High correlations were found between the total KSCIM-R scores of the paired raters (r=0.95, p＜0.01), and between KSCIM-R scores and total FIM scores (r=0.90, p＜0.01). The KSCIM-R detected all the functional changes detected by FIM total scoring, however the FIM missed changes in 16 (16%) of 102 sequential test batteries, which was detected by KSCIM-R total scoring. Conclusion: These results demonstrated that the KSCIM-R is reliable and more sensitive than the FIM and KSCIM in reflecting the functional changes of SCI patients. (J Korean Acad Rehab Med 2004; 28: 565-573)