Article

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of kinaesthetic ability training with the
Kinesthetic Ability Trainer (KAT) on unilateral neglect and functional outcomes
in stroke patients. STUDY DESIGN: An assessor-blinded, randomized controlled,
clinical trial. METHODS:
A total of 64 stroke patients with unilateral neglect
(mean age 61 (standard deviation (SD) 12) years, 60.4% male, mean time since
stroke 6.4 (SD 10.4) months, left hemiplegia 92.5%) were randomly assigned to a
conventional rehabilitation programme (control group, n = 32) or KAT plus a
conventional rehabilitation programme (KAT group, n = 32) for 4 weeks. Patients
were assessed with the Behavioral Inattention Test (BIT) and Functional
Independence Measure (FIM) before and after therapy. RESULTS: Both groups showed
significant improvements in all subscales of the BIT (conventional and
behavioural) (p < 0.001) and the FIM motor scale (p < 0.001) after therapy.
Recovery from neglect was assessed, based on the BIT cut-off scores. The recovery
rate for behavioural BIT was 40% in the KAT group and 17.9% in the control group
(p = 0.07), whereas recovery rates according to the conventional BIT were 16% and
10.7% in the KAT and control groups, respectively. CONCLUSION: Kinaesthetic
ability training provides clinically meaningful improvement in stroke patients
with unilateral neglect. It may be useful as an adjunctive therapy for
rehabilitation in these patients.

Langue : ANGLAIS