Systematic review of the effectiveness of mirror therapy in upper extremity function

Purpose.?This review gives an overview of the current state of research regarding the effectiveness of mirror therapy in upper extremity function.

Method.?A systematic literature search was performed to identify studies concerning mirror therapy in upper extremity. The included journal articles were reviewed according to a structured diagram and the methodological quality was assessed.

Results.?Fifteen studies were identified and reviewed. Five different patient categories were studied: two studies focussed on mirror therapy after an amputation of the upper limb, five studies focussed on mirror therapy after stroke, five studies focussed on mirror therapy with complex regional pain syndrome type 1 (CRPS1) patients, one study on mirror therapy with complex regional pain syndrome type 2 (CRPS2) and two studies focussed on mirror therapy after hand surgery other than amputation.

Conclusions.?Most of the evidence for mirror therapy is from studies with weak methodological quality. The present review showed a trend that mirror therapy is effective in upper limb treatment of stroke patients and patients with CRPS, whereas the effectiveness in other patient groups has yet to be determined.     

Accuracy of KinectOne to quantify kinematics of the upper body

Motion analysis systems deliver quantitative information, e.g. on the progress of rehabilitation programs aimed at improving range of motion. Markerless systems are of interest for clinical application because they are low-cost and easy to use. The first generation of the Kinect™ sensor showed promising results in validity assessment compared to an established marker-based system. However, no literature is available on the validity of the new ‘Kinect™ for Xbox one’ (KinectOne) in tracking upper body motion. Consequently, this study was conducted to analyze the accuracy and reliability of the KinectOne in tracking upper body motion.Twenty subjects performed shoulder abduction in frontal and scapula plane, flexion, external rotation and horizontal flexion in two conditions (sitting and standing). Arm and trunk motion were analyzed using the KinectOne and compared to a marker-based system. Comparisons were made using Bland Altman statistics and Coefficient of Multiple Correlation.On average, differences between systems of 3.9 ± 4.0° and 0.1 ± 3.8° were found for arm and trunk motion, respectively. Correlation was higher for the arm than for the trunk motion.Based on the observed bias, the accuracy of the KinectOne was found to be adequate to measure arm motion in a clinical setting. Although trunk motion showed a very low absolute bias between the two systems, the KinectOne was not able to track small changes over time. Before the KinectOne can find clinical application, further research is required analyzing whether validity can be improved using a customized tracking algorithm or other sensor placement, and to analyze test–retest reliability.     

Thermochemotherapy in patients with extremity high-risk soft tissue sarcomas (HR-STS)

Purpose: We report data from phase II trials examining the efficacy of multimodality treatment with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, hyperthermia, surgery, radiation and postoperative thermochemotherapy in adult patients with high-risk sarcomas of the extremities.

Patients and methods: From 1991 to 2001 47 patients with high risk soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities were prospectively treated in two clinical trials with a treatment plan of four cycles of etoposide, ifosfamide and doxorubicin combined with regional hyperthermia followed by surgery, radiation and adjuvant chemotherapy.

Results: Objective response rate assessable in 39 patients was 21% (one complete and seven partial responses). A favourable histological response (>75% tumour necrosis) was observed in 34% of the 35 evaluable patients who had surgical resection. Median overall survival (OS) was 105 months. The five-year probability of local failure-free survival (LFFS), distant disease-free survival (DDFS), event-free survival (EFS) and OS were 48%, 55%, 35% and 57%, respectively. There were no significant differences between responders and non-responders of minimum temperatures (Tmin) and time-averaged temperatures achieved in 50% (T₅₀) and 90% (T₉₀) at all measured tumour sites. Response to this neoadjuvant regimen predicted for prolonged LFFS (p = 0.0123), but not for OS (p = 0.2). Limb preservation was achieved in 37 patients (79%) and did not result in inferior DDFS (52% versus 50%) or OS (61% versus 50%) at five years (p = 0.8) in comparison to patients who underwent amputation.

Conclusion: Response to combined modality treatment with RHT and neoadjuvant chemotherapy was predictive for an improved LFFS and led to limb preservation in 79% of patients with extremity sarcomas.     

Clear‐cell atypical fibroxanthoma: An unusual case in an unusual place

Atypical fibroxanthoma represents a low‐grade sarcoma that usually presents in the elderly population on sun‐damaged areas of the head and neck regions. This neoplasm is characterized on histology by atypical pleomorphic, epithelioid to spindled cells, arranged in a haphazard pattern, set within a background of solar elastosis. In this case report, we present a unique case of the rare variant of clear‐cell atypical fibroxanthoma arising in an unusual place, specifically the lower extremities.     

早期主动性康复训练对卒中偏瘫患者上肢功能恢复的疗效观察

目的观察早期主动性康复训练对卒中偏瘫患者上肢功能恢复的疗效。方法将45例卒中后7-45d的偏瘫患者,按照入院病例号单双顺序分为康复组（25例）和对照组（20例）。所有患者均接受神经内科常规药物治疗、传统物理疗法、作业治疗和理疗等治疗;另外,康复组接受早期上肢主动性康复训练和应用腕关节背伸矫形支具,对照组仍进行传统康复训练。两组训练时间为30min/次,2次/d,5d/周,治疗时间均为4个月。分别在治疗前及治疗后4个月时进行偏瘫上肢功能评分（manual function examination,MFS）和运动评定量表评分（the motor assessment scale,MAS）。康复治疗4个月后,第3、6、12个月进行随访,评价MFS和MAS。对出院后继续自我练习2个月的患者进行功能磁共振成像检查。结果治疗后4个月,康复组MFS、MAS评分较治疗前分别增加10.8±1.1和5.3±1.5,对照组增加4.4±0.4和1.9±0.8,两组增加值比较,差异均有统计学意义（P〈0.01）。②康复组第3、6、12个月MFS、MAS随访评分均高于对照组,两组比较差异均有统计学意义（P〈0.01）③头部功能磁共振成像显示,康复组患者患侧第一运动区和辅助运动区均有高信号显示;对照组患侧和健侧第一运动区有高信号显示,而患侧辅助运动区无高信号显示。结论早期主动性康复训练对提高上肢功能的恢复和降低上肢致残率有显著疗效。     

有效预防下肢深静脉血栓的护理措施

目的：了解骨折患者下肢深静脉血栓的有效预防措施,降低其发生率。方法对该院2014年6月—2014年8月收治的115例下肢骨折患者进行病例回顾性分析,分析不同护理方式对下肢静脉血栓发生情况的影响。结果115例病例中发生下肢深静脉血栓6例,发生率5.2%,常规护理加下肢气压泵护理可有效的减少骨折患者发生下肢静脉血栓,与常规护理组比较,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。结论下肢骨折长期卧床患者,应采取常规护理加下肢气压泵护理,以有效地降低下肢深静脉血栓形成的概率,减轻病人的痛苦。     

探讨低分子肝素预防下肢静脉曲张术后深静脉血栓形成的临床效果

目的：分析低分子肝素预防下肢静脉曲张术后深静脉血栓形成的临床效果。方法随机选择2012年1月-2014年1月在该院行分段剥脱术+腔内激光闭合术+大隐静脉高位结扎的下肢静脉曲张患者400例,将其随机分成实验组和对照组各200例,对照组患者术后不给于抗凝药物,实验组患者术后给予低分子肝素进行预防治疗,对两组患者深静脉血栓形成和并发症发生情况进行对比分析。结果在浸透敷料出血、切口出血、血小板减少以及肝功能异常发生率方面,两组患者比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05);实验组患者深静脉血栓形成发生率显著低于对照组患者,两者比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。术后随访发现,两组患者在下肢静脉曲张复发率和隐神经损伤发生率方面比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论在对下肢静脉曲张术后深静脉血栓形成进行预防时,低分子肝素具有比较好的临床效果,而且安全性高,应该进行临床推广和应用。     

Associations of childhood overweight and obesity with upper-extremity fracture characteristics

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States, and is associated with an increased risk of lower-extremity physeal fractures, and fractures requiring operative intervention. However, no study has assessed the risk upper extremity physeal fractures among overweight children. Our purpose was to compare the following upper-extremity fracture characteristics in overweight and obese children with those of normal-weight/underweight children (herein, “normal weight”): mechanism of injury, anatomical location, fracture pattern, physeal involvement, and treatment types. We hypothesized that overweight and obese children would be higher risk for physeal and complete fractures with low-energy mechanisms and would therefore more frequently require operative intervention compared with normal-weight children.We performed a cross-sectional review of our database of 608 patients aged 2 to 16 years, and included patients who sustained isolated upper-extremity fractures at our level-1 pediatric tertiary care center from January 2014 to August 2017. Excluded were patients who sustained pathologic fractures and those without basic demographic or radiologic information. Using body mass index percentile for age and sex, we categorized patients as obese (≥95th percentile), overweight (85th to <95th percentile), normal weight (5th to <85th percentile), or underweight (<5th percentile). The obese and overweight groups were analyzed both separately and as a combined overweight/obese group. Demographic data included age, sex, height, and weight. Fractures were classified based on fracture location, fracture pattern (transverse, comminuted, buckle, greenstick, avulsion, or oblique), physeal involvement, and treatment type. Of the 608 patients, 58% were normal weight, 23% were overweight, and 19% were obese. There were no differences in the mean ages or sex distributions among the 3 groups.Among patients with low-energy mechanisms of injury, overweight/obese patients had significantly greater proportions of complete fractures compared with normal-weight children (complete: 65% vs 55%, P = .001; transverse: 43% vs 27%, P = .006). In addition, the overweight/obese group sustained significantly more upper-extremity physeal fractures (37%) than did the normal-weight group (23%) (P = .007).Compared with those in normal-weight children, upper-extremity fracture patterns differ in overweight and obese children, who have higher risk of physeal injuries and complete fractures caused by low-energy mechanisms.Level of Evidence: Level III, retrospective comparative study.