Functional assessment of the upper limb in patients in a rehabilitation polyclinic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35954/SM2025.44.2.2.e301Keywords:
quality of live, evaluation of research programs and tools, indicators of quality of life, physical and rehabilitation medicine, upper extremity, rehabilitation, rehabilitation servicesAbstract
Introduction: The heterogeneity of the population attended at the Upper Limb and Burn Polyclinic of the Academic Unit of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of the Hospital de Clínicas represents a challenge from the assistance and technical point of view; at present, there is no standardized and objectifiable line of initial assessment. This research is relevant for the care team and patients because it means a support to adapt and improve assessment methods, in order to implement objective measurements at the beginning. It will also allow promoting future lines of research taking into account the population profile.
Objective: To functionally characterize patients consulting for the first time in an upper limb rehabilitation polyclinic, using the ARAT and Quick DASH scales.
Materials and methods: Descriptive observational study, with data collection from patients seen between December 2024 and April 2025. Consenting patients over 18 years of age with upper limb injuries were included, to whom both scales were applied in their first consultation. Descriptive and comparative statistical analyses were performed according to sex and laterality.
Results: 18 patients were included. ARAT scores ranged between 0 and 57 and QuickDASH between 0% and 86.4%, with high dispersion. Dissociation was observed between both scales, with cases of good objective functionality and high self-perceived disability. No significant differences were found by laterality. Women reported greater disability in the QuickDASH (p = 0.0328), with no objective functional difference.
Discussion: The most relevant finding is the dissociation between both scales: patients with preserved objective functionality (high ARAT) were identified who reported high levels of disability in the Quick DASH.
Conclusion: The ARAT and Quick DASH scales allowed us to characterize patients' functionality in a complementary manner. The combination of objective and subjective measures is useful in the initial assessment and can enrich individual therapeutic planning.
NOTE: This article was approved by the Editorial Committee.
Received for review: May 2025.
Accepted for publication: June 2025.
Correspondence: Enrique Muñoz 870, Ap. 401. CP 11300. Tel.: (+598) 099861312. Montevideo, Uruguay.
Contact email: diegoaiscar@gmail.com
Downloads
References
Pisani A, Tomasina F. Enfermedades, lesiones y accidentes en trabajadores de la construcción en Uruguay, período 2014-2018. Salud Trab (Maracay). 2021;29(2):146-56. Disponible en: https://pesquisa.bvsalud.org/portal/resource/es/biblio-1411733
Tomasina FA, Álvarez CB, Alegretti MA, Stolovas N. Accidentes de trabajo en un hospital universitario, Montevideo, Uruguay. Rev Cubana Salud Trab. 2019 [citado 17 Mar 2025];20(2):27-33. Disponible en: https://revsaludtrabajo.sld.cu/index.php/revsyt/article/view/113
Hervás MT, Navarro Collado MJ, Peiró S, Rodrigo Pérez JL, López Matéu P, Martínez Tello I. Versión española del cuestionario DASH: adaptación transcultural, fiabilidad, validez y sensibilidad a los cambios. Med Clin (Barc). 2006;127(12):441-7. PubMed PMID: 17040628. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1157/13093053
Almirón M, Barrios I. Valoración funcional de pacientes con lesiones de miembro superior a través del cuestionario DASHe. Medicina Clínica y Social. 2018;2(3):136-44. Disponible en: https://www.medicinaclinicaysocial.org/index.php/MCS/article/view/66
Hudak PL, Amadio PC, Bombardier C, Beaton D, Cole D, Davis A, et al. Development of an upper extremity outcome measure: the DASH (disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand) [corrected]. Am J Ind Med. 1996;29(6):602-8. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0274(199606)29:6%3C602::AID-AJIM4%3E3.0.CO;2-L
Rosales RS, Delgado EB, Díez de la Lastra-Bosch I. Evaluation of the Spanish version of the DASH and carpal tunnel syndrome health-related quality-of-life instruments: cross-cultural adaptation process and reliability. J Hand Surg Am. 2002;27(2):334-43. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1053/jhsu.2002.30059
Lyle RC. A performance test for assessment of upper limb function in physical rehabilitation treatment and research. Int J Rehabil Res. 1981;4(4):483-92. PubMed PMID: 7333761. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1097/00004356-198112000-00001
Grattan ES, Velozo CA, Skidmore ER, Page SJ, Woodbury ML. Interpreting Action Research Arm Test assessment scores to plan treatment. OTJR. 2018;39(1):64-73. PubMed PMID: 29444623; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6070435. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1177/1539449218757740
Fernández-Solana J, Pardo-Hernández R, González-Bernal JJ, Sánchez-González E, González-Santos J, Soto-Cámara R, et al. Psychometric properties of the action research arm test (ARAT) scale in post-stroke patients-Spanish population. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(22):14918. PubMed PMID: 36429637; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9690867. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192214918
Doussoulin A, Rivas R, Campos V. Validación de “Action Research Arm Test” (ARAT) en pacientes con extremidad superior parética post ataque cerebro vascular en Chile. Rev Med Chil. 2012;140(1):59-65. Disponible en: https://www.scielo.cl/pdf/rmc/v140n1/art08.pdf
Padilla-Magaña JF, Peña-Pitarch E, Sánchez-Suarez I, Ticó-Falguera N. Quantitative assessment of hand function in healthy subjects and post-stroke patients with the Action Research Arm Test. Sensors (Basel). 2022;22(10):3604. PubMed PMID: 35632013; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9147783. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.3390/s22103604
Padilla-Magaña JF, Peña-Pitarch E, Sánchez-Suarez I, Ticó-Falguera N. Hand motion analysis during the execution of the Action Research Arm Test using multiple sensors. Sensors (Basel). 2022;22(9):3276. PubMed PMID: 35590966; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9105674. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.3390/s22093276
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 : Diego Aiscar Fernández y Gerardo Amilivia.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Until 2024 we use the Creative Commons Attribution/NonCommercial Attribution 4.0 International License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.es. Which states that: you are free to share, copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, as well as to adapt, remix, transform and build upon the material. Under the following terms:
Attribution: you must give proper credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes have been made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in such a way as to suggest that you or your use is endorsed by the licensor.
NonCommercial: you may not use the material for commercial purposes.
As of 2025 authors retain their copyright and assign to the journal the right of first publication of their work, which shall simultaneously be subject to the license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.es that permits sharing, copying and redistribution of the material in any medium or format provided that initial publication in this journal is indicated. Adapt, remix, transform and build upon the material. If you remix, transform, or build from the material, you must distribute your contribution under the same license as the original and may not make use of the material for commercial purposes.
Under the following terms:
1. Attribution: you must give proper credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate whether changes have been made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in such a way as to suggest that you or your use is endorsed by the licensor.
2. NonCommercial: you may not use the material for commercial purposes.
3. ShareAlike: if you remix, transform or build upon the material, you must distribute your contribution under the same license as the original.
PlumX Metrics
