Article

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of peripheral sensory nerve stimulation
combined with task-oriented training in patients with stroke during inpatient
rehabilitation. DESIGN: A pilot randomized crossover trial. Setting: Two
rehabilitation hospitals.
Subjects: Twenty-two patients with subacute stroke.
INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomly assigned to two groups and underwent
two weeks of training in addition to conventional inpatient rehabilitation. The
immediate group underwent peripheral sensory nerve stimulation combined with
task-oriented training in the first week, followed by another week with
task-oriented training alone. The delayed group underwent the same training in
reverse order. MAIN MEASURES: Outcome measures were the level of fatigue and Wolf
Motor Function Test. Patients were assessed at baseline, one and two weeks.
RESULTS: All participants completed the study with no adverse events. There was
no significant difference in level of fatigue between each treatment. From
baseline to one week, the immediate group showed larger improvements than the
delayed groups in the Wolf Motor Function Test (decrease in mean time (+/- SD)
from 41.9 +/- 16.2 seconds to 30.6 +/- 11.4 seconds versus from 46.8 +/- 19.4
seconds to 42.9 +/- 14.7 seconds, respectively) but the difference did not reach
significance after Bonferroni correction (P = 0.041). Within-group comparison
showed significant improvements in the Wolf Motor Function Test mean time after
the peripheral sensory nerve stimulation combined with task-oriented training
periods in each group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION:
Peripheral sensory nerve
stimulation is feasible in clinical settings and may enhance the effects of
task-oriented training in patients with subacute stroke.

Langue : ANGLAIS