Background and Purpose-The purpose of this study was to determine whether motivational interviewing, a patientcentered counseling technique, can benefit patients' mood 3 months after stroke. Methods-A single-center, open, randomized, controlled trial was conducted at a single hospital with a stroke unit.Subjects consisted of 411 consecutive patients on the stroke register who were over 18 years of age and who did not have severe cognitive and communication problems that would prevent them from taking part in an interview; were not known to be moving out of the area after discharge; and were not already receiving psychiatric or clinical psychology intervention. All patients received usual stroke care. Patients in the intervention group received 4 individual, weekly sessions of motivational interviewing with a trained therapist in addition to usual stroke care. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with normal mood at 3 months poststroke measured by the 28-item General Health Questionnaire (normal, Ͻ5; low Ն5) using a mailed questionnaire. here is a strong relationship between early psychologic problems and the rate and extent of recovery after stroke. Depressed patients with stroke lack the motivation to participate in rehabilitation, making less progress, 1 staying in the hospital longer, 2 failing to engage in leisure pursuits and social activities, 3 and surviving for less time. 4 These negative outcomes could be related to a failure to adjust or adapt to the effects of the stroke.Several studies have attempted to address psychologic problems directly using either pharmacological 5 or conventional cognitive-behavioral therapies. 6 -9 However, the results thus far have failed to give a clear message 10 as have studies aiming to reduce psychologic problems indirectly, for example, by improving social support. 11 Alternative approaches to addressing psychologic issues after stroke need to be explored.Motivational interviewing is a specific talk-based therapy originally developed to help people with addictions. 12 More recently, it has been used successfully with a wide range of health problems characterized by poor motivation and the necessity to make some form of health behavior change. 13 Our aim is to intervene at an early stage after stroke using motivational interviewing to support and build patients' motivation to adjust and adapt to having had a stroke. Through the use of motivational interviewing techniques, patients will be helped to recognize the importance of making psychologic adjustments and practical adaptations. Subsequently, they will be able to develop confidence in their ability to adjust and adapt and to identify realistic personal goals for their recovery. This will address low expectations 14 and provide the psychologic impetus to engage in rehabilitation and improve recovery. 15 Methods Study DesignThis was a single-center, open, randomized, controlled trial. Ethical approval was obtained from the local research ethics committee. This study is registered as an International Stan...

Background Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal unintentional injuries in older people. The use of Exergames (active, gamified video-based exercises) is a possible innovative, community-based approach. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a tailored OTAGO/FaME-based strength and balance Exergame programme for improving balance, maintaining function and reducing falls risk in older people. Methods A two-arm cluster randomised controlled trial recruiting adults aged 55 years and older living in 18 assisted living (sheltered housing) facilities (clusters) in the UK. Standard care (physiotherapy advice and leaflet) was compared to a tailored 12-week strength and balance Exergame programme, supported by physiotherapists or trained assistants. Complete case analysis (intention-to-treat) was used to compare the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) at baseline and at 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes included fear of falling, mobility, fall risk, pain, mood, fatigue, cognition, healthcare utilisation and health-related quality of life, and self-reported physical activity and falls. Results Eighteen clusters were randomised (9 to each arm) with 56 participants allocated to the intervention and 50 to the control (78% female, mean age 78 years). Fourteen participants withdrew over the 12 weeks (both arms), mainly for ill health. There was an adjusted mean improvement in balance (BBS) of 6.2 (95% CI 2.4 to 10.0) and reduced fear of falling ( p = 0.007) and pain ( p = 0.02) in the Exergame group. Mean attendance at sessions was 69% (mean exercising time of 33 min/week). Twenty-four percent of the control group and 20% of the Exergame group fell over the trial period. The change in fall rates significantly favoured the intervention (incident rate ratio 0.31 (95% CI 0.16 to 0.62, p = 0.001)). The point estimate of the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was £15,209.80 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). Using 10,000 bootstrap replications, at the lower bound of the NICE threshold of £20,000 per QALY, there was a 61% probability of Exergames being cost-effective, rising to 73% at the upper bound of £30,000 per QALY. Conclusions Exergames, as delivered in this trial, improve balance, pain and fear of falling and are a cost-effective fall prevention strategy in assisted living facilities for people aged 55 years or older. Trial registration The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov on 18 Dec 2015 with reference number NCT02634736 . Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12916-019-1278-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Repetitive task training (RTT) involves the active practice of task-specific motor activities and is a component of current therapy approaches in stroke rehabilitation. Objectives Primary objective: To determine if RTT improves upper limb function/reach and lower limb function/balance in adults after stroke. Secondary objectives: (1) To determine the effect of RTT on secondary outcome measures including activities of daily living, global motor function, quality of life/health status and adverse events. (2) To determine the factors that could influence primary and secondary outcome measures, including the effect of 'dose' of task practice; type of task (whole therapy, mixed or single task); timing of the intervention and type of intervention.

Disease status scores in AS correlated significantly with anxiety, depression, internality and health status. Interpretation of AS disease scores should take an account of psychological status and the choice of measures used. These findings have important potential applications in AS management and monitoring, including the identification of patients for biological therapies.

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Level of use is variable and can fall far short of recommendations. Competing commitments were a barrier to use of the equipment, but participants reported that the intervention was flexible and motivating. It will not suit everyone, but some participants recorded high levels of use. Implications for practice are discussed.

We describe the results of a randomised, prospective study of 200 ankle replacements carried out between March 2000 and July 2003 at a single centre to compare the Buechel-Pappas (BP) and the Scandinavian Total Ankle Replacement (STAR) implant with a minimum follow-up of 36 months. The two prostheses were similar in design consisting of three components with a meniscal polyethylene bearing which was highly congruent on its planar tibial surface and on its curved talar surface. However, the designs were markedly different with respect to the geometry of the articular surface of the talus and its overall shape. A total of 16 ankles (18%) was revised, of which 12 were from the BP group and four of the STAR group. The six-year survivorship of the BP design was 79% (95% confidence interval (CI) 63.4 to 88.5 and of the STAR 95% (95% CI 87.2 to 98.1). The difference did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.09). However, varus or valgus deformity before surgery did have a significant effect) (p = 0.02) on survivorship in both groups, with the likelihood of revision being directly proportional to the size of the angular deformity. Our findings support previous studies which suggested that total ankle replacement should be undertaken with extreme caution in the presence of marked varus or valgus deformity.

background Despite simpler regimens than vitamin K antagonists (VKas) for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (aF), adherence (taking drugs as prescribed) and persistence (continuation of drugs) to direct oral anticoagulants are suboptimal, yet understudied in electronic health records (ehrs). Objective We investigated (1) time trends at individual and system levels, and (2) the risk factors for and associations between adherence and persistence. Methods in UK primary care ehr (The health information network 2011-2016), we investigated adherence and persistence at 1 year for oral anticoagulants (Oacs) in adults with incident aF. Baseline characteristics were analysed by Oac and adherence/persistence status. risk factors for nonadherence and non-persistence were assessed using cox and logistic regression. Patterns of adherence and persistence were analysed. results among 36 652 individuals with incident aF, cardiovascular comorbidities (median cha 2 Ds 2 Vasc[congestive heart failure, hypertension, age≥75 years, Diabetes mellitus, stroke, Vascular disease, age 65-74 years, sex category] 3) and polypharmacy (median number of drugs 6) were common. adherence was 55.2% (95% ci 54.6 to 55.7), 51.2% (95% ci 50.6 to 51.8), 66.5% (95% ci 63.7 to 69.2), 63.1% (95% ci 61.8 to 64.4) and 64.7% (95% ci 63.2 to 66.1) for all Oacs, VKa, dabigatran, rivaroxaban and apixaban.One-year persistence was 65.9% (95% ci 65.4 to 66.5), 63.4% (95% ci 62.8 to 64.0), 61.4% (95% ci 58.3 to 64.2), 72.3% (95% ci 70.9 to 73.7) and 78.7% (95% ci 77.1 to 80.1) for all Oacs, VKa, dabigatran, rivaroxaban and apixaban. risk of non-adherence and non-persistence increased over time at individual and system levels. increasing comorbidity was associated with reduced risk of non-adherence and non-persistence across all Oacs. Overall rates of 'primary non-adherence' (stopping after first prescription), 'non-adherent nonpersistence' and 'persistent adherence' were 3.5%, 26.5% and 40.2%, differing across Oacs. Conclusions adherence and persistence to Oacs are low at 1 year with heterogeneity across drugs and over time at individual and system levels. Better understanding of contributory factors will inform interventions to improve adherence and persistence across Oacs in individuals and populations.on July 10, 2020 by guest. Protected by copyright.