Evaluation of Performance-Based Outcome Measures for the Upper Limb: A Comprehensive Narrative Review.
Sophie Wang, C Janice Hsu, Lauren Trent and 4 others
PMID 29474995WHAT IT FOUND
Most upper-limb performance tests used for amputees and stroke patients assess one-hand tasks in front of the body, rely on subjective judgments, and rarely capture sensation or movement quality.
Few cover all movement zones or two-handed daily use.
Key findings
01Most upper-limb performance tasks in these measures occur directly in front of the body, and only 3 cover all 5 defined movement zones.
02Scoring is often subjective, and only 2 of 17 measures had sensation components, while 6 of 17 considered movement quality.
03Only 3 of 17 measures are specifically designed and validated for upper-limb prosthesis users.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The review only included outcome measures with enough published task and scoring details, so some measures were excluded and the conclusions could change. It did not test these measures in patients or compare treatments, so it cannot show that any measure predicts function, satisfaction, or prosthesis benefit. Most measures were not designed or validated for upper-limb prosthesis users, so their results may not transfer cleanly to that population. Quality of motion was scored subjectively and the authors say there is no consensus on what counts as good movement quality.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not include an author conflict-of-interest declaration. The article is tagged as U.S. Government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this review as proof that any of these tests improves patient care or predicts prosthesis benefit. It describes what tasks and scoring each measure includes, and most measures were not validated in upper-limb prosthesis users.