Article

OBJECTIVE: To examine the feasibility, safety, and secondary benefit potential of
exoskeleton-assisted walking with one device for persons with multiple sclerosis
(MS). DESIGN: Single-group longitudinal preliminary study with 8-week baseline,
8-week intervention, and 4-week follow-up.
SETTING: Outpatient MS clinic,
tertiary care hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Participants (N=13; age range, 38-62y) were
mostly women with Expanded Disability Status Scale scores ranging from 5.5 to
7.0. INTERVENTION: Exoskeleton-assisted walk training. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
Primary outcomes were accessibility (enrollment/screen pass), tolerability
(completion/dropout), learnability (time to event for standing, walking, and
sitting with little or no assistance), acceptability (satisfaction on the device
subscale of the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology
version 2), and safety (event rates standardized to person-time exposure in the
powered exoskeleton). Secondary outcomes were walking without the device (timed
25-foot walk test and 6-minute walk test distance), spasticity (Modified Ashworth
Scale), and health-related quality of life (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement
and Information System pain interference and Quality of Life in Neurological
Conditions fatigue, sleep disturbance, depression, and positive affect and
well-being). RESULTS: The device was accessible to 11 and tolerated by 5
participants. Learnability was moderate, with 5 to 15 sessions required to walk
with minimal assistance. Safety was good; the highest adverse event rate was for
skin issues at 151 per 1000 hours' exposure. Acceptability ranged from not very
satisfied to very satisfied. Participants who walked routinely improved
qualitatively on sitting, standing, or walking posture. Two participants improved
and 2 worsened on >/=1 quality of life domain. The pattern of spasticity scores
may indicate potential benefit. CONCLUSIONS: The device appeared feasible and
safe for about a third of our sample, for whom routine exoskeleton-assisted
walking may offer secondary benefits.
CI - Copyright (c) 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS