Effectiveness of physiotherapy in Parkinson's disease: the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial.
To study the feasibility of a large randomised controlled trial (RCT) evaluating the effectiveness of physiotherapy in Parkinson's disease (PD), 173 patients were asked to participate in a study with random allocation to best practice physiotherapy, or to no physiotherapy. The primary outcome measures were the Parkinson's disease questionnaire-39, the Parkinson activity scale, and a patient preference outcome scale (PPOS). Only 14% of the patients could be included in the study. The PPOS showed the largest effect size (0.74) with a significant group effect (p<0.05). Specific alterations to the study design to ensure successful RCTs in this field are recommended.
Keus
S H J
SH
Department of Physiotherapy, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), H0Q, P.O. Box 9600, 2300RC Leiden, The Netherlands. s.h.j.keus@lumc.nl
Bloem
B R
BR
van Hilten
J J
JJ
Ashburn
A
A
Munneke
M
M
D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome