Survey on Awareness of Upper Limb Function Reconstruction in Patients with Cervical Spinal Cord Injury / 中国康复理论与实践

ABSTRACT

@#Objective To survey the attitudes and acceptance level of upper limb function reconstruction in patients with cervical spinal cord injury and analyze the related factors. Methods From October, 2013 to June, 2014, a total of 104 patients with cervical spinal cord injury were surveyed with self-designed questionnaire. Results There were 81 valid questionnaires, in which 3 patients (3.7%) heard of upper-extremity reconstructive surgery. The patients longed for upper limb function improvement most. After they had a understanding of the surgery, their willingness improved (P<0.01). No significant difference was found in the satisfaction degree and operation willingness between different hand function groups (P>0.05). The patients focused on the operation cost, the operation risk, recovery time after operation and the satisfaction of assistive devices, however, they were not correlated with the willingness of upper limb function reconstruction (P>0.05). Conclusion There is a clear gap between strong desire for functional improvement of upper limb and surgery awareness. It is important to communicate upper limb among patients with cervical spinal cord injury.