Study design: One of the problems that arise in spinal cord injury (SCI) is alteration in trunk control. Despite the need for standardized scales, these do not exist for evaluating trunk control in SCI. Objective: To propose and validate a trunk control test in individuals with SCI. Setting: National Institute of Rehabilitation, Mexico. Methods: The test was developed and later evaluated for reliability and criteria, content, and construct validity. Results: We carried out 531 tests on 177 patients and found high inter-and intra-rater reliability. In terms of criterion validity, analysis of variance demonstrated a statistically significant difference in the test score of patients with adequate or inadequate trunk control according to the assessment of a group of experts. A receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted for optimizing the instrument's cutoff point, which was determined at 13 points, with a sensitivity of 98% and a specificity of 92.2%. With regard to construct validity, the correlation between the proposed test and the spinal cord independence measure (SCIM) was 0.873 (P ¼ 0.001) and that with the evolution time was 0.437 (P ¼ 0.001). For testing the hypothesis with qualitative variables, the Kruskal-Wallis test was performed, which resulted in a statistically significant difference between the scores in the proposed scale of each group defined by these variables. Conclusion: It was proven experimentally that the proposed trunk control test is valid and reliable. Furthermore, the test can be used for all patients with SCI despite the type and level of injury.

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Background: Although the efficacy of intravenous thrombolysis (IV-T) has been widely demonstrated, the rates of its use continue to be low. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of IV-T in Mexican hospitals and to describe the target times for acute treatment and the functional evolution of patients. Methods: Data prospectively collected from patients with acute ischemic stroke treated over a period of 2 years in four Mexican hospitals were analyzed. We assessed demographic data, the onset-to-door (OTD) time, the door-to-needle (DTN) time, treatment and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and modified Rankin scale (mRs) scores at the baseline and at the end of the follow-up. Results: There were 500 patients (mean age 57 ± 14 years, 274 [55%] men). The median OTD time was 11 h (range 30 min-190 h); the mean of NIHSS score was 10 ± 6. Eighty-seven (17.4%) patients arrived at the hospital within 4.5 h; but only 38 (7.6%) patients were treated with IV-T (mean of NIHSS 12 ± 6 points; with a mean OTD time of 2.1 h and a DTN time of 82 ± 51 min). After a median follow-up of 6 months (range 5-24 months), the final NIHSS score was 7 ± 6 points. A better prognosis was observed (mRs < 2) in patients who received IV-T (p = 0.04). Conclusions: The frequency of IV-T in Mexican hospitals continues to be <10%. A high percentage of patients continues to arrive at the hospital outside the therapeutic window.

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