Valid and reliable instruments for arm-hand assessment at ICF activity level in persons with hemiplegia: a systematic review

Contains fulltext : 110141.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Loss of arm-hand performance due to a hemiparesis as a result of stroke or cerebral palsy (CP), leads to large problems in daily life of these patients. Assessment of arm-hand performance is important in both clinical practice and research. To gain more insight in e.g. effectiveness of common therapies for different patient populations with similar clinical characteristics, consensus regarding the choice and use of outcome measures is paramount. To guide this choice, an overview of available instruments is necessary. The aim of this systematic review is to identify, evaluate and categorize instruments, reported to be valid and reliable, assessing arm-hand performance at the ICF activity level in patients with stroke or cerebral palsy. METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed to identify articles containing instruments assessing arm-hand skilled performance in patients with stroke or cerebral palsy. Instruments were identified and divided into the categories capacity, perceived performance and actual performance. A second search was performed to obtain information on their content and psychometrics. RESULTS: Regarding capacity, perceived performance and actual performance, 18, 9 and 3 instruments were included respectively. Only 3 of all included instruments were used and tested in both patient populations. The content of the instruments differed widely regarding the ICF levels measured, assessment of the amount of use versus the quality of use, the inclusion of unimanual and/or bimanual tasks and the inclusion of basic and/or extended tasks. CONCLUSIONS: Although many instruments assess capacity and perceived performance, a dearth exists of instruments assessing actual performance. In addition, instruments appropriate for more than one patient population are sparse. For actual performance, new instruments have to be developed, with specific focus on the usability in different patient populations and the assessment of quality of use as well as amount of use. Also, consensus about the choice and use of instruments within and across populations is needed

Effectiveness of functional intensive therapy on mobility and self-care activities in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy - a prospective clinical study

PURPOSE: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a major cause of childhood disability. Children with CP often lack motor skills to effectively perform activities of daily living. The aim is to assess the effectiveness of a functional intensive therapy program focused on improving individual goals in the domain of mobility and self-care in children and adolescents with CP. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty-five CP patients, aged 11-19 years, GMFCS I-IV, received daily 6-7 h of functional therapy for 15 days. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, immediately after the program and at three months follow-up. RESULTS: Significant post-intervention improvement was seen on all primary and secondary outcome measures; personal goals (GAS score; COPM performance and COPM satisfaction), daily activities (ACTIVLIM), hand function (ABILHAND-Kids), mobility (ABILOCO-Kids; GMFM-66-IS score). There was no loss to follow up during the program and after three months. At follow-up, improvements were retained except for ABILOCO and GMFM-66-IS. CONCLUSIONS: Functional intensive therapy appears feasible and seems to be effective in improving treatment goals focused on mobility and self-care, even in older and more severely affected children and adolescents with CP. After three months, these possible effects were still present.Implications for rehabilitationShort intensive functional training is feasible and showing no loss to follow up in the older and more severely affected children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP).Short intensive functional training appears effective in improving individual goals in children and adolescents with CP and improvements endorse three months.Short intensive functional training seems to be effective on both mobility and self-care domains of the ICF-CY

Valid and reliable instruments for arm-hand assessment at ICF activity level in persons with hemiplegia: a systematic review

Background: Loss of arm-hand performance due to a hemiparesis as a result of stroke or cerebral palsy (CP), leads to large problems in daily life of these patients. Assessment of arm-hand performance is important in both clinical practice and research. To gain more insight in e. g. effectiveness of common therapies for different patient populations with similar clinical characteristics, consensus regarding the choice and use of outcome measures is paramount. To guide this choice, an overview of available instruments is necessary. The aim of this systematic review is to identify, evaluate and categorize instruments, reported to be valid and reliable, assessing arm-hand performance at the ICF activity level in patients with stroke or cerebral palsy. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed to identify articles containing instruments assessing arm-hand skilled performance in patients with stroke or cerebral palsy. Instruments were identified and divided into the categories capacity, perceived performance and actual performance. A second search was performed to obtain information on their content and psychometrics. Results: Regarding capacity, perceived performance and actual performance, 18, 9 and 3 instruments were included respectively. Only 3 of all included instruments were used and tested in both patient populations. The content of the instruments differed widely regarding the ICF levels measured, assessment of the amount of use versus the quality of use, the inclusion of unimanual and/or bimanual tasks and the inclusion of basic and/or extended tasks. Conclusions: Although many instruments assess capacity and perceived performance, a dearth exists of instruments assessing actual performance. In addition, instruments appropriate for more than one patient population are sparse. For actual performance, new instruments have to be developed, with specific focus on the usability in different patient populations and the assessment of quality of use as well as amount of use. Also, consensus about the choice and use of instruments within and across populations is needed

Feasibility and effectiveness of home-based therapy programmes for children with cerebral palsy:a systematic review

Objective To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of home-based occupational therapy and physiotherapy programmes in children with cerebral palsy (CP), focusing on the upper extremity and reporting on child-related and/or parent-related outcomes. Design Systematic review. Data sources Electronic searches were performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, OTseeker and PEDro, and in ICTRP and CENTRAL trial registers, from inception to 6 June 2019. Eligible criteria The review included all types of original studies concerning feasibility or effectiveness of home-based therapy in children aged 40 different child-related outcome measures were found. Overall, an improvement in arm-hand performance within group across time was shown. Only two studies reported on a parent-related outcome measure. No increase in parental stress was found during the intervention. Conclusions Based on the results of the included studies, home-based training programmes seem to be feasible. However, conclusions about the effectiveness of home programmes cannot be made due to the large variability in the study, patient and intervention characteristics, comparators, and outcome measures used in the included studies. PROSPERO registration number CRD42016043743

Placement of the sensor devices.

<p>A) placement on the dominant arm-hand and chest of healthy participants, B) bilateral placement on the arms, hands and chest of the stroke patient, C) top view of the placement of the sensor devices on the hand.</p

Upper Extremity Muscle Strength in Children With Unilateral Spastic Cerebral Palsy:A Bilateral Problem?

Objective. The objective was to investigate whether muscle strength in the nonaffected and affected upper extremities (UEs) in children (7-12 years) with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (USCP) differs from that in children with typical development (TD). Methods. A cross-sectional study design was used. Isometric arm strength (wrist flexion, wrist extension with flexed and extended fingers, elbow flexion/extension) was assessed in 72 children (mean age = 9.3 [SD = 1.9] years) with USCP, and isometric grip/pinch strength was assessed in 86 children (mean age = 9.3 [SD = 1.8] years) with USCP. Arm/grip/pinch strength was assessed in 120 children (mean age = 9.5 [SD = 1.7] years) with TD. Arm strength was measured with a hand-held dynamometer, and grip/pinch strength was measured with a calibrated, modified (digitized) grip dynamometer and a pinch meter. The nonaffected UE of children with USCP was compared with the preferred UE of children with TD because both sides represent the preferred UE. The affected UE was compared with the nonpreferred UE of children with TD, as both sides represent the nonpreferred UE. Results. In all measurements except for grip strength of the preferred UE, children with USCP were weaker than children with TD. Conclusions. In children with USCP, muscle strength weakness exists in both UEs. Impact. When unimanual or bimanual ability limitations are present in children with unilateral cerebral palsy, investigation of the muscle strength of the nonaffected UE should be part of the assessment

Identification of the activities ‘drinking’, ‘eating’ and ‘brushing hair’ in a sequence of recordings of multiple standardized daily activities of a stroke patient.

<p>Panel A displays the superimposed signals (63 in total) of a recording of a stroke patient while performing three tasks, namely drinking from a cup, eating with knife and fork and brushing hair. Pattern recognition using an individual template is shown for the tasks ‘drinking’ (Panel B), ‘eating’ (Panel C) and ‘brushing hair’ (Panel D). Pattern recognition with the complete task as template and with the task sub-phases as template are both shown. The black lines (complete task) and coloured lines (task sub-phases) in panels B and C mark the places were the template is recognised in the longer recording.</p