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. 2009;32(5):532-7.
doi: 10.1080/10790268.2009.11754554.

Computerized classification of neurologic injury based on the international standards for classification of spinal cord injury

Ross S Chafetz  1 , Seyla Prak, M J Mulcahey
Affiliations

Computerized classification of neurologic injury based on the international standards for classification of spinal cord injury

Ross S Chafetz et al. J Spinal Cord Med. 2009.

Abstract

Background/objective: To develop and test a computer program to accurately score International Standards for Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISCSCI) examinations.

Methods: A computer program was written following the algorithm published in the ISCSCI 2003 manual. Two methods were used to test the computer program's accuracy. First, 94 hand-scored examinations representing 25 different patients were entered into the program. Differences between hand-scored examinations and computer-scored examinations were evaluated for accuracy. Second, all case examples from the ISCSCI manual were entered into the computer program to verify its accuracy.

Results: Of the 94 hand-scored examinations, the computer detected all incorrectly scored examinations. Furthermore, the computer scoring agreed with every examination's scores that were correctly calculated by hand. Of the hand-scored examinations, 10% of sensory total scores and 4% of motor scores were incorrect. For sensory level and motor level, there were errors in 9% and 26% of hand-scored examinations, respectively; 13% of hand-scored examinations had incorrectly assigned ASIA Impairment Scale classification.

Conclusion: This study showed that the computer program we developed was effective in correctly scoring ISCSCI examinations and was able to detect errors in hand-scored examinations.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scoring algorithm for ISCSCI examinations using 2003 standards.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Database data entry page. Example of computer screen shot of an incorrectly hand scored exam. Red fields identify errors in scoring of the motor levels and AIS.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Database data entry page. Case example from the 2003 manual; red fields identify errors in scoring of the motor levels.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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