| Title | Robot-mediated and clinical scales evaluation after upper limb botulinum toxin type A injection in children with hemiplegia. | | Author(s) | Frascarelli F, Masia L, Di Rosa G, Petrarca M, Cappa P, Castelli E | | Institution | Pediatric Neuro-Rehabilitation Division, Children's Hospital "Bambino Gesù" IRCCS Via Torre di Palidoro, IT-00050 Passoscuro (Fiumicino) Rome, Italy. E-mail: flaminiafrascarelli@opbg.net. | | Source | J Rehabil Med 2009 Nov; 41(12):988-94. | | Abstract | OBJECTIVE: The aim of this pilot study was to examine changes in different aspects of impairment, including spasticity in the upper limbs, of hemiplegic children following botulinum toxin type A intervention. Progress was assessed using standard clinical measurements and a robotic device.
DESIGN: Pre-post multiple baseline.
SUBJECTS: Six children with hemiplegia.
METHODS: Botulinium toxin type A injections were administered into the affected upper limb muscles. Outcomes were evaluated before and one month after the injection. Outcome assessments included: Melbourne Scale, Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) and Passive Range of Motion. Furthermore, a robotic device was employed as an evaluation tool.
RESULTS: Patients treated with botulinum toxin type A had significantly greater reduction in spasticity (MAS, p < 0.01), which explains an improvement in upper limb function and quality movement measured with the Melbourne Scale (p < 0.01). These improvements are consistent with robot-based evaluation results that showed statistically significant changes (p < 0.01) following botulinum toxin type A injections.
CONCLUSION: The upper limb performs a wide variety of movements. The multi-joint nature of the task during the robot-mediated evaluation required active control of joint interaction forces. There was good correlation between clinical scales and robotic evaluation. Hence the robot-mediated assessment may be used as an additional tool to quantify the degree of motor improvement after botulinum toxin type A injections. | | Language | eng | | Pub Type(s) | Journal Article
| | PubMed ID | 19841830 |
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