Abstract: Objective To investigate the test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability of Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) for abnormal sensation points of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods From October, 2016 to December, 2018, 69 patients with SCI were enrolled. Their impaired sensory points were measured with NRS. The score of sensory points was tested by examiner A firstly, and examiner B did the same work next day. Then, the examiner A retested the same patients after three weeks. Results The Pearson correlation coefficients and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of the test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability for sensory score of both sides were all above 0.88 and 0.93 respectively (P < 0.001). The Pearson correlation coefficients and ICC of the sensory score of the different injury levels were all above 0.88 and 0.93 respectively (P < 0.001). Conclusion NRS has high test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability for the assessment at abnormal sensation points of patients with SCI.

Key words: spinal cord injury, Numerical Rating Scale, sensory function, reliability