ABSTRACT

Objective : This study aimed to apply the Korean version of the Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI) and the Korean version of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) on infants with cerebral palsy, and on non-disabled infants, to compare the appropriateness of these tools when evaluating the activities of daily living in infants with cerebral palsy. Methods : The subjects of this study included 66 infants with cerebral palsy and 68 non-disabled infants aged between 1 and 5. The data collected were statistically analyzed using SPSS version 18.0 and MedCalc version 12.3. For a discriminative power comparison, a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis was utilized. An independent t-test was conducted to compare the scores between the two groups. Results : Both the K-MBI and the Korean version of the PEDI showed a statistically significant difference between infants with cerebral palsy and non-disabled infants. In the case of the K-MBI, the difference was the greatest for“ ambulation,”followed by“ chair/bed transfer”and“ stair up/down.”The Korean version of the PEDI, on the other hand, showed the greatest difference in the mobility category, followed by the selfcare and social function categories in the Korean version of the PEDI. The AUC comparison, which was conducted to compare the discriminative ability of the two tools, determined that its total, functional skills, and caregiver assistance for the Korean version of the PEDI were significantly broader than for the K-MBI. Conclusion : The Korean version of the PEDI had a better discriminative power than the K-MBI, which is currently used as a criterion to determine the level of disabilities of infants with brain lesions. In clinical practice, it is necessary to compliment or replace the current methods used to assess an infant’s development through the use of tools that more properly diagnose and evaluate the infant’s level of disability.