Trial reportEuropean journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine2023
Effectiveness of the home-based training program Tele-UPCAT (Tele-monitored UPper Limb Children Action Observation Training) in unilateral cerebral palsy: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of telerehabilitation monitored home-based therapies on upper extremity function-related outcomes in children and adolescents with unilateral cerebral palsy: A systematic review.Journal of telemedicine and telecare · 2026Pooled it
- Digital technology integration in home-based exercise: a systematic review of research evolution, applications, and impact mechanisms.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of action observation treatment based on pathological model in hemiplegic children: a randomized-controlled trial.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2024Trial
- Rehabilitation research in spinal muscular atrophy: a call to action.Journal of neuromuscular diseases · 2026Review
- Outcomes and standardized tools in telehealth physical therapy for children with cerebral palsy: A scoping review using the ICF framework.Developmental medicine and child neurology · 2026Article
- Structural brain lesions and action observation therapy outcomes in unilateral cerebral palsy: an exploratory study.Frontiers in systems neuroscience · 2026Article
- ACT-ON-DIP: Study Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial of a Home-Based ACTion Observation Tele-RehabilitatioN for Upper Limb in Children with DIPlegic Cerebral Palsy.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Action Observation for Children and Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy: Hope or Hype? A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Effectiveness of Physiotherapy for Improving Participation, Gross Motor Function, Gait and Balance in Children and Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Challenges and Prospects of Sensing Technology for the Promotion of Tele-Physiotherapy: A Narrative Review.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe effects of unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP) are largely observed in the upper limb (UL), which represents the main focus of rehabilitation for this disorder. Thanks to an increment in home training and progress in technology innovative systems have been created. The Tele-UPCAT (Tele-monitored UPper Limb Children Action Observation Training) platform is dedicated to the delivery at home of a program for UL rehabilitation, based on action observation therapy (AOT).
aimThis study aimed to investigate the immediate effectiveness of Tele-UPCAT for promoting UL skills in children with UCP and to determine if immediate effects were retained in the medium and long term.
designTele-UPCAT was conducted on an intention-to-treat basis and was proposed as a randomized, allocation concealed (waitlist controlled) and evaluator-blinded clinical trial with two investigative arms: intensive in-home AOT program and standard care (SC).
settingThis is a home-based AOT program delivered with a customized ICT platform. POPULATION: Thirty children (mean age 11.61±3.55 years) with confirmed diagnosis of spastic UCP with predominant UL involvement and cognitive level within or at normal limits were enrolled in this study. Orthopedic surgery or an intramuscular botulinum toxin A injection in the UL within 6 months prior to enrolment represented an exclusion criteria.
methodsParticipants were randomized using concealed random allocation. They were assessed according to the study design with the Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA), the Box and Block Test (BBT) and the Melbourne Assessment 2 (MA2). Linear mixed models were used for statistical analysis.
resultsA significant difference between the AOT and SC groups was identified immediately after the training on the AHA (6.406 [2.73] P=0.021) with an effect size (ES) of 1.99, and for the BBT of the less affected hand (9.826 [4.535] P=0.032) with an ES of 1.44. These effects were sustained at medium and long term.
conclusionsThis study supports the effectiveness of AOT home training in promoting UL skills in children with UCP, with immediate effects lasting for 6 months. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: This should encourage the use of technology for rehabilitative purposes and further applications of the AOT paradigm.
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