Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39593164›Full record

ArticleJournal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation2024

Therapeutic effects of powered exoskeletal robot-assisted gait training in inpatients in the early stage after stroke: a pilot case-controlled study.

Jian-Jia Huang, Shih-Chieh Chang, Lei-Chi Lin, Cheng-Hsu Cheng, Yeong-Hwa Chang, Yu-Cheng Pei

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Article in Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Jian-Jia HuangDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.
Shih-Chieh ChangDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.
Lei-Chi LinDepartment of Medical Education, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.
Cheng-Hsu ChengDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.
Yeong-Hwa ChangDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.
Yu-Cheng PeiDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. yspeii@gmail.com.

Funding

Chang Gung Medical Foundation BMRPB67Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan NSTC112-2218-E-182A-001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRobot-assisted rehabilitation is considered beneficial for functional recovery in patients with stroke, but the therapeutic effect remains inconclusive. The present study investigated the therapeutic effects of gait training assisted by a user-initiated powered exoskeletal robot (UIPER) in patients in the early stage after stroke. We also characterized patients' improvement by analyzing chronological changes in clinical measurements together with gait parameters obtained from internal sensors in the exoskeletal robot.

methodsIn this pilot case-controlled study, 17 and 81 patients with stroke onset durations of < 3 months were included in the robot-assisted combined with conventional treatment (RT + CT) group and conventional treatment only (CT) group, respectively. The UIPER, which provides knee flexion and extension support and has hip and knee sensors, was applied to guide gait performance in the RT + CT group. The patients in the RT + CT group received robot-assisted gait training for 40 min/ session, 1 session a day, and 2-3 sessions a week (6 sessions in total). The primary outcome was the proportion of patients reaching the minimum clinically important difference (MCID) in the 5-meter walking speed (5MWS) assessment, and the secondary outcomes were the MCID for the six-minute walking test, the Berg Balance Scale, the Barthel Index, the Fugl-Meyer assessment, and the timed up and go test before, during, and after the interventions. Gait parameters of the hip and knee were evaluated at baseline, midterm, and final sessions.

resultsGait function improved in both groups after the intervention (both P < 0.05). The primary outcome showed that a greater proportion of patients reached the MCID for the 5MWS in the RT + CT group than in the CT group (70.6 vs. 43.2%, P = 0.040; [Formula: see text] = 0.208). Similarly, in terms of the secondary outcomes, more patients in the RT + CT group reached the MCID for the Barthel index as compared with the CT group (41.2 vs. 17.3%, P = 0.047, [Formula: see text] = 0.220). Gait analysis revealed improvements in gait in the RT + CT group, as indicated by increases in the perimeter and area of the hip-knee cyclogram, as well as the range of motion in the hip joint.

conclusionsGait training assisted by UIPER facilitates the recovery of walking speed and activities of daily living in patients with stroke, and these improvements may be related to improvements in gait parameters. Randomized controlled studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these findings.

trial registrationThis trial was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Chang Gung Medical Foundation (No. 202200822B0).

Indexed as

Exoskeleton DeviceStroke RehabilitationAdultAgedCase-Control StudiesExercise TherapyFemaleGaitGait Disorders, NeurologicHumansMaleMiddle AgedPilot ProjectsRoboticsStrokeTreatment OutcomeExoskeletal robotGaitPost-acute careRobot-assisted trainingStrokeUser-initiated control

Identifiers

PMID39593164
PMCPMC11590526

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.