Combination treatment in the rehabilitation of visuo-spatial neglect.
BACKGROUND
Visuo-spatial neglect predicts longer hospitalization, poorer recovery of motor skills and greater functional limitation. The aim of the present study was to analyze whether the combined administration of computerized cognitive rehabilitation with right hemifield eye-patching in patients with left spatial neglect following a right hemisphere stroke is more effective than computerized cognitive rehabilitation applied in isolation.


METHODS
Randomized clinical trial conducted in 28 patients. These were grouped into two experimental groups: single treatment group (ST) (n= 15) and combined treatment group (CT) (n= 13). All received an average of 15 one-hour sessions of computerized cognitive rehabilitation using the Guttmann, NeuroPersonalTrainer&reg; telerehabilitation platform. Those patients in the TC group performed the sessions wearing a visual device with which the right hemifield of each eye was occluded.


RESULTS
Following treatment, both the ST and the TC group showed improvements in neuropsychological examination protocol although there were no differences pre- and post-treatment on the functional scale in either group. Likewise, no statistically significant differences were observed in intergroup comparison.


CONCLUSIONS
The results from this study indicate that combination treatment is not more effective than rehabilitation applied in isolation.
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Celeste
C
Aparicio-López
Alberto
A
García-Molina
Juan
J
García-Fernández
Raquel
R
López-Blázquez
Antonia
A
Enseñat-Cantallops
Rocío
R
Sánchez-Carrión
Vega
V
Muriel
José M
JM
Tormos
Teresa
T
Roig-Rovira
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation / Q000379:methods*