Exploring hand and upper limb function in patients with inclusion body myositis (IBM)

Inclusion body myositis (IBM) is an inflammatory myopathy characterized by progressive weakness of knee extensors and finger flexors. Many patients lose independence with fine motor tasks; however, a gap remains as to how these deficits correlate with performance on functional outcome measures. We describe functional hand impairments as measured by performance-based outcome measures in a cross-sectional sample of 74 patients with IBM. Subjects completed a series of outcome measures (Functional Dexterity Test (FDT), Performance of the Upper Limb (PUL), and Sollerman Hand Function Test (SHFT)) alongside a collection of patient reported outcomes (PROs). Assessments were compared to standard IBM measurements, including grip strength and IBM Functional Rating Scale (IBMFRS). FDT and SHFT demonstrated significant correlations to grip (p<0.001; Spearman correlations r=0.48–0.70). Significant correlation was found between all functional outcome measures and IBMFRS (p<0.001; Spearman correlations r=0.51–0.77), as well as PRO Upper Extremity Scale for IBM (IBM-PRO) (p<0.05; Spearman correlations r=0.55–0.73). Non-ambulatory patients demonstrated significantly weaker grip (p<0.001), resulting in lower PUL scores and increased FDT completion times (p<0.001). Collectively, these assessments may provide insight to understanding functional limitations of the hands and potentially allow for more inclusive clinical trials with future validation of hand assessments in IBM.