Abstract
The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between Finger Function Quotient (FQ) and the lowest functioning level in patients with complete tetraplegia following cervical spinal cord injury. A total of 67 hands of 35 patients, 32 men and 3 women were included in this study. We also evaluated the effects of reconstructive surgery of the hand with FQ.
A good correlation was found between the lowest functioning level and FQ. At the same level of palsy, as patient age increased, FQ decreased. The FQ level at which the patients could perform ADL independently (20-30 points) corresponded to 2-B: II or 2-B: III in Zancolli's classification. After reconstructive surgery of the hand, mean FQ improved about 14 point, and even 1-B to 2-B: I patients reached the FQ level of 20.
The FQ test is useful for evaluating the total function of the paralyzed hand in patients with tetraplegia. However, as the load of the device is rather heavy for these patients, care was required to analyze in detail the examination marks and factor of FQ.
