Investigating a new tablet-based telerehabilitation app in patients with aphasia: a randomised, controlled, evaluator-blinded, multicentre trial protocol.

Uslu, Arif Sinan; Gerber, Stephan M; Schmidt, Nadine; Röthlisberger, Carina; Wyss, Patric; Vanbellingen, Tim; Schaller, Sandra; Wyss, Corina; Koenig-Bruhin, Monica; Berger, Thomas; Nyffeler, Thomas; Müri, René; Nef, Tobias; Urwyler, Prabitha (2020). Investigating a new tablet-based telerehabilitation app in patients with aphasia: a randomised, controlled, evaluator-blinded, multicentre trial protocol. BMJ open, 10(11), e037702. BMJ Publishing Group 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037702

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INTRODUCTION

Aphasia is a common language disorder acquired after stroke that reduces the quality of life of affected patients. The impairment is frequently accompanied by a deficit in cognitive functions. The state-of-the-art therapy is speech and language therapy but recent findings highlight positive effects of high-frequency therapy. Telerehabilitation has the potential to enable high-frequency therapy for patients at home. This study investigates the effects of high-frequency telerehabilitation speech and language therapy (teleSLT) on language functions in outpatients with aphasia compared with telerehabilitative cognitive training. We hypothesise that patients training with high-frequency teleSLT will show higher improvement in language functions and quality of life compared with patients with high-frequency tele-rehabilitative cognitive training (teleCT).

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This study is a randomised controlled, evaluator-blinded multicentre superiority trial comparing the outcomes following either high-frequency teleSLT or teleCT. A total of 100 outpatients with aphasia will be recruited and assigned in a 1:1 ratio stratified by trial site and severity of impairment to one of two parallel groups. Both groups will train over a period of 4 weeks for 2 hours per day. Patients in the experimental condition will devote 80% of their training time to teleSLT and the remaining 20% (24 min/day) to teleCT, vice versa for patients in the control condition. The primary outcome measure is the understandability of verbal communication on the Amsterdam Nijmegen Everyday Language Test and secondary outcome measures are intelligibility of the verbal communication, impairment of receptive and expressive language functions, confrontation naming. Other outcomes measures are quality of life and acceptance (usability and subjective experience) of the teleSLT system.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This study is approved by the Ethics Committee Bern (ID 2016-01577). Results will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT03228264.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Further Contribution)

Division/Institute:

10 Strategic Research Centers > ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research > ARTORG Center - Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation
04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Head Organs and Neurology (DKNS) > Clinic of Neurology
07 Faculty of Human Sciences > Institute of Psychology > Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy
04 Faculty of Medicine > University Psychiatric Services > University Hospital of Geriatric Psychiatry and Psychotherapy

UniBE Contributor:

Uslu, Arif Sinan, Gerber, Stephan Moreno, Schmidt, Nadine, Röthlisberger, Carina, Vanbellingen, Tim, Berger, Thomas (B), Müri, René Martin, Nef, Tobias, Urwyler-Harischandra, Prabitha

Subjects:

600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health

ISSN:

2044-6055

Publisher:

BMJ Publishing Group

Language:

English

Submitter:

Chantal Kottler

Date Deposited:

20 Nov 2020 09:28

Last Modified:

29 Mar 2023 23:37

Publisher DOI:

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037702

PubMed ID:

33177134

Uncontrolled Keywords:

neurological injury neurology rehabilitation medicine stroke telemedicine

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.148139

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/148139

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