Using the Barthel Index to Assess Activities of Daily Living after Musculoskeletal Tumour Surgery: A Single-centre Observational Study

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the current study was to find the factors affecting the activities of daily living, as evaluated by the Barthel Index, at the end of rehabilitation after musculoskeletal tumour surgery. Further, we evaluated whether the Barthel Index correlates with functional scores that are specific to musculoskeletal tumours at final follow-up. Methods: The activities of daily living of 190 patients who underwent postoperative rehabilitation after surgery to treat musculoskeletal tumours were evaluated at the end of the program using the Barthel Index. Functional evaluation at the time of final follow-up observation was evaluated using the Musculoskeletal Tumour Society Score and the Toronto Extremity Salvage Score. Results: The post-rehabilitation Barthel Index was significantly lower in elderly patients aged more than 60 years and in those with malignant tumours and tumours larger than 10 cm. Malignancy and large tumour size were risk factors for a low Barthel Index. There was significant correlation between the Musculoskeletal Tumour Society Score/Toronto Extremity Salvage Score at final functional evaluation and the Barthel Index at the end of rehabilitation. Conclusion: The Barthel Index is a simple method to assess the activities of daily living and can potentially predict disease-specific health-related quality of life at final functional evaluation after musculoskeletal tumour surgery.