SHUEE on the evaluation of upper limb in cerebral palsy

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the use of the tool for evaluation of spastic upper limb SHUEE (Shriners Hospital Upper Extremity Evaluation) in the evaluation of upper limb in cerebral palsy (CP) and its ability to detect changes after surgical treatment of identified deformities. METHODS: 19 patients with spastic hemiplegic CP had their upper limb evaluated by SHUEE. Five patients underwent surgical treatment of deformities detected and performed the test at one year postoperatively. RESULTS: The mean age was 9.02 years old; 18 patients were classified as level I GMFCS and one patient as level II. At baseline, the mean spontaneous functional analysis was 59.01; dynamic positional analysis was 58.05 and grasp-and-release function, was 91.21. In the postoperative period the scores were, respectively, 65.73, 69.62 and 100, showing an improvement of 3.5% in the spontaneous functional analysis and of 44.8% in dynamic positional analysis. CONCLUSIONS: SHUEE is a tool for evaluation of spastic upper limb in cerebral palsy that helps in the specific diagnosis of deformities, indication of treatment and objective detection of results after surgical treatment. Level of Evidence IV, Case Series.

Keywords

• Cerebral palsy
• Disability evaluation
• Upper extremity