Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research, Brown University, Rhode Island, USA.
Phys Occup Ther Pediatr. 2021;41(1):56-73. doi: 10.1080/01942638.2020.1758985. Epub 2020 May 12.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can impair physical function in children. The NIH Toolbox Motor Battery (NIHTB-M) was designed to be a brief assessment of physical function, but no studies have examined its use in children with TBI. This study aims to describe the feasibility of using the NIHTB-M to assess children with TBI.
The NIHTB-M was administered to children with TBI 2 weeks (n = 22) and/or 6 months (n = 23) following injury. This descriptive study summarizes participant performance, administration challenges, and the association between NIHTB-M scores, participant characteristics, and subjective report of physical function.
Of the NIHTB-M domains, deficits in endurance and balance were most prevalent. Children aged 5 to 16 years could complete the assessment per administration guidelines, except for a few cases (n = 3) where orthopedic injuries limited participation. Younger children (aged 3 to 4) had difficulty following the NIHTB-M directions. Technological issues impacted balance assessment in several cases (n = 6).
The NIHTB-M is brief to administer, generally well tolerated by school-aged children and, despite occasional technological challenges, is a feasible performance-based battery for assessment of children with TBI for clinical and research purposes. Additional investigation of psychometric properties and ceiling and floor effects is needed.
创伤性脑损伤（TBI）可损害儿童的身体功能。NIH 工具包运动电池（NIHTB-M）旨在对身体功能进行简短评估，但尚无研究检查其在 TBI 儿童中的使用情况。本研究旨在描述使用 NIHTB-M 评估 TBI 儿童的可行性。
在受伤后 2 周（n=22）和/或 6 个月（n=23），对 TBI 儿童进行了 NIHTB-M 测试。这项描述性研究总结了参与者的表现、管理挑战，以及 NIHTB-M 评分、参与者特征和身体功能主观报告之间的关联。
在 NIHTB-M 各领域中，耐力和平衡方面的缺陷最为普遍。年龄在 5 至 16 岁之间的儿童可以按照管理指南完成评估，只有少数情况下（n=3）因骨科损伤限制了参与。年龄较小的儿童（3 至 4 岁）在理解 NIHTB-M 说明方面有困难。在几种情况下（n=6），技术问题影响了平衡评估。
NIHTB-M 测试时间短，学龄儿童一般能较好地耐受，尽管偶尔存在技术挑战，但对于临床和研究目的，它是一种可行的基于表现的 TBI 儿童评估工具。需要进一步研究心理测量特性以及上限和下限效应。
