Poststroke fatigue: does group education make a difference? A randomized pilot trial.
OBJECTIVE
Fatigue is common and contributes to poor stroke outcomes. Educational fatigue management reduces fatigue in other conditions (eg, cancer). There was no evidence for educational fatigue management in stroke patients. This trial evaluated an educational fatigue management intervention in stroke survivors.


METHODS
Participants in this pilot trial were 19 individuals 3 to 18 months post incident stroke who experienced fatigue (Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) ≯3.9). Participants were allocated to a Fatigue Management Group (FMG) or General Stroke Education (GSE) control group. Assessment occurred pre and post intervention and at the 3-month follow-up. The primary outcome was FSS fatigue.


RESULTS
Both groups had significantly reduced FSS fatigue from baseline to postintervention assessment. Though not significantly different (P ≯.05), FSS decreased more in FMG participants than controls. Participant SF-36 social functioning and Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale depression scores improved significantly, but the groups did not differ significantly (P ≯.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The findings indicate that the FMG intervention is both feasible and should be the subject of a full trial.
Department of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Annabel
A
Clarke
Suzanne L
SL
Barker-Collo
Valery L
VL
Feigin
D000368:Aged; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications*