1. The effect of augmented speech-language therapy delivered by telerehabilitation on poststroke aphasia-a pilot randomized controlled trial.
- Author
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Øra HP, Kirmess M, Brady MC, Partee I, Hognestad RB, Johannessen BB, Thommessen B, and Becker F
- Subjects
- Aged, Aphasia etiology, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pilot Projects, Stroke Rehabilitation, Aphasia rehabilitation, Language Therapy methods, Speech Therapy methods, Stroke complications, Telerehabilitation methods
- Abstract
Objective: Pilot a definitive randomized controlled trial of speech-language telerehabilitation in poststroke aphasia in addition to usual care with regard to recruitment, drop-outs, and language effects., Design: Pilot single-blinded randomized controlled trial., Setting: Telerehabilitation delivered from tertiary rehabilitation center to participants at their home or admitted to secondary rehabilitation centers., Subjects: People with naming impairment due to aphasia following stroke., Intervention: Sixty-two participants randomly allocated to 5 hours of speech and language telerehabilitation by videoconference per week over four consecutive weeks together with usual care or usual care alone. The telerehabilitation targeted functional, expressive language., Main Measures: Norwegian Basic Aphasia Assessment: naming (primary outcome), repetition, and auditory comprehension subtests; Verb and Sentence Test sentence production subtest and the Communicative Effectiveness Index at baseline, four weeks, and four months postrandomization. Data were analyzed by intention to treat., Results: No significant between-group differences were seen in naming or auditory comprehension in the Norwegian Basic Aphasia Assessment at four weeks and four months post randomization. The telerehabilitation group ( n = 29) achieved a Norwegian Basic Aphasia Assessment repetition score of 8.9 points higher ( P = 0.026) and a Verb and Sentence Test score 3 points higher ( P = 0.002) than the control group ( n = 27) four months postrandomization. Communicative Effectiveness Index was not significantly different between groups, but increased significantly within both groups. No adverse events were reported., Conclusion: Augmented telerehabilitation via videoconference may be a viable rehabilitation model for aphasia affecting language outcomes poststroke. A definitive trial with 230 participants is needed to confirm results.
- Published
- 2020
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