Assessment of functional independence using WeeFIM in patients with myelomeningocele: a retrospective cohort study in a children’s rehabilitation center

Abstract

Introduction: Myelomeningocele is the most common neural tube closu- re defect and is associated with some degree of motor disability. Objective: To analyze, using the Wee - Functional Independence Measure (WeeFIM), the functional independence in patients from the Teletón Puebla Children’s Rehabilitation and Inclusion Center with a diagnosis of myelomeningocele and its correlation with the level of injury and number of services provided. Patient Material and Methods: Descriptive, observational, retrospective and longitudinal study, in a sample of 83 patients, the Wilcoxon signed rank test was applied to the initial and final WeeFIM scores, to determine if there was a statistically significant difference, Spearman correlation was performed to measure the degree of association of the changes in the WeeFIM, considering the level of the injury, with the length of stay, which indirectly tells us about the number of therapies received. Results: The difference between the initial and final WeeFIM scale presented a statistically significant difference with a p = 0.001, the Spearman test at the thoracic level shows a weak correlation and at the lumbar level a medium correlation between the WeeFIM gain with the number of therapies in a range of 3 to 5 years. Conclusion: Most patients achieved cognitive independence, but needed help with personal care and mo- bility, a significant difference was shown between the WeeFIM assessments when evaluated with the Wilcoxon test, the correlation between the changes in the WeeFIM with the number of therapies received was not strong enough to make accurate predictions.