Effectiveness of active occupational therapy in patients with acute stroke: A propensity score-weighted retrospective study

Background and purposeThe effects of therapy and patient characteristics on rehabilitation outcomes in patients with acute stroke are unclear. We investigated the effects of intensive occupational therapy (OT) on patients with acute stroke.MethodsWe performed a retrospective cohort study using the 2005–2016 Japan Rehabilitation Database, from which we identified patients with stroke (n = 10,270) who were admitted to acute care hospitals (n = 37). We defined active OT (AOT) and non-AOT as OT intervention times (total intervention time/length of hospital stay) longer or shorter than the daily physical therapy intervention time, respectively. The outcomes assessed were the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores, duration of hospitalization, and rate of discharge. Propensity scores and inverse probability of treatment weighting analyses adjusted for patient characteristics were performed to investigate the effects of AOT on patient outcomes.ResultsWe enrolled 3,501 patients (1,938 and 1,563 patients in the AOT and non-AOT groups, respectively) in the study. After inverse probability of treatment weighting, the AOT group had a shorter length of hospitalization (95% confidence interval: −3.7, −1.3, p < 0.001), and the FIM (95% confidence interval: 2.0, 5.7, p < 0.001) and NIHSS (95% confidence interval; 0.3, 1.1, p < 0.001) scores improved significantly. Subgroup analysis showed that lower NHISS scores for aphasia, gaze, and neglect and lower overall NIHSS and FIM scores on admission led to a greater increase in FIM scores in the AOT group.ConclusionsAOT improved the limitations in performing activities of daily living (ADL) and physical function in patients with acute stroke and reduced the length of hospitalization. Additionally, subgroup analysis suggested that the increase in FIM score was greater in patients with severe limitations in performing ADLs and worse cognitive impairment, such as neglect, on admission

Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Occupation-Based Occupational Therapy Using the Aid for Decision Making in Occupation Choice (ADOC) for Older Residents: Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND:Care-home residents are mostly inactive, have little interaction with staff, and are dependent on staff to engage in daily occupations. We recently developed an iPad application called the Aid for Decision-making in Occupation Choice (ADOC) to promote shared decision-making in activities and occupation-based goal setting by choosing from illustrations describing daily activities. This study aimed to evaluate if interventions based on occupation-based goal setting using the ADOC could focus on meaningful activities to improve quality of life and independent activities of daily living, with greater cost-effectiveness than an impairment-based approach as well as to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a large cluster, randomized controlled trial. METHOD:In this single (assessor)-blind pilot cluster randomized controlled trial, the intervention group (ADOC group) received occupational therapy based on occupation-based goal setting using the ADOC, and the interventions were focused on meaningful occupations. The control group underwent an impairment-based approach focused on restoring capacities, without goal setting tools. In both groups, the 20-minute individualized intervention sessions were conducted twice a week for 4 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Short Form-36 (SF-36) score, SF-6D utility score, quality adjusted life years (QALY), Barthel Index, and total care cost. RESULTS:We randomized and analyzed 12 facilities (44 participants, 18.5% drop-out rate), with 6 facilities each allocated to the ADOC (n = 23) and control (n = 21) groups. After the 4-month intervention, the ADOC group had a significantly greater change in the BI score, with improved scores (P = 0.027, 95% CI 0.41 to 6.87, intracluster correlation coefficient = 0.14). No other outcome was significantly different. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, calculated using the change in BI score, was $63.1. CONCLUSION:The results suggest that occupational therapy using the ADOC for older residents might be effective and cost-effective. We also found that conducting an RCT in the occupational therapy setting is feasible. TRIAL REGISTRATION:UMIN Clinical Trials Registry UMIN000012994

Main outcomes following occupational therapy interventions lasting 4 months in older adults of geriatric health service facilities.

<p>Main outcomes following occupational therapy interventions lasting 4 months in older adults of geriatric health service facilities.</p

Percentage of participants stratified by changes in the Barthel Index.

<p>ADOC, Aid for Decision-making in Occupation Choice.</p

Flow diagram of recruitment of geriatric health service facilities and older residents.

<p>MMSE; Mini-Mental State Examination, ADOC; Aid for Decision-making in Occupation Choice.</p