Objective: To speed up and focus (biennial) check-ups of out-patients with spinal cord lesions by means of a brief mail questionnaire concerning speci®c impairments as well as general life conditions. Method: A trial 69-item questionnaire was ®lled in twice, at home and on arrival for checkup, and, for a third time, by the physician during the consultation. Out of 115 check-ups, 107 and 105 could be included in a reproducibility and validity assessment respectively. Results: Excellent agreement between the ®rst two completions (`reproducibility') and between the markings made at home and those made by the physician (`validity') was obtained for the majority of the items. Those items not performing satisfactorily, not least those relating to defecation, were scrutinised. Conclusion: After revision, the questionnaire can serve the above mentioned purposes in a cost-e ective and clinically satisfying manner. Further bene®ts are envisaged by computerised longitudinal monitoring of the patients' answers. Finally, we have pointed towards weak items/questions in our questionnaire, and we hope this can be of help to others who want to use similar questionnaires in their daily practice.
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