[Analysis of FIM-values during the hospital treatment of patients with acute spinal cord injury].

The cost pressures in the German health care system continue to rise. In the context of the introduction of the DRG system, adequate treatment of paraplegic and tetraplegic patients within the financial limits will become even more difficult. In dispute with health care insurance companies, scientifically sound studies have been lacking to justify a treatment lasting up to six months as an in-patient of individuals with acute spinal cord injury or disease. The FIM (Functional Independence Measurement), established as a reliable tool in the evaluation of the functional development of patients presenting with acute spinal cord lesions, has been used as the basic tool in our study. Under the conditions of a specialized spinal cord injury centre the FIM showed a statistically highly significant increase of functional independence during the entire course of treatment. No therapeutic standstill could be detected in order to determine a point of discharge. Even in the last six weeks of treatment significant progress in functional independence can be observed.