We present a case report of a 31-year-old female with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita who suffered from restrictive lung disease and who underwent pulmonary rehabilitation successfully with a robotic device. This device falls into the category of a patient-guided suspension system. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit after an episode of pneumonia. In the general ward, she could not be weaned off oxygen and was not able to ambulate more than 3 m with assistance. During the first session of training with the robotic device, she ambulated 162 m. After six sessions of robotic therapy, she was weaned off oxygen and could walk independently. The use of patient-guided suspension systems should be explored in pulmonary rehabilitation.
Objective To describe the functional outcomes of post COVID-19 patients after inpatient rehabilitation and determine if patients who underwent adjunct daily robotic therapy with Andago had better functional outcomes than those who did not and if patients who were frail had worse functional outcomes than those who were pre-frail or not frail. Design Retrospective study of COVID-19 patients transferred for acute inpatient rehabilitation from 1 November 2021 to 31 December 2021. Results Post COVID-19 patients who underwent inpatient rehabilitation had an improvement in the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) (median 109 vs 82), Functional Ambulation Category(FAC) (median 3 vs 2), distance walked with physiotherapist (mean 143.5 vs 18.7 m), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(HADS) (mean 4.5 vs 7.8) from baseline. Robotic therapy may be associated with a shorter rehabilitation medicine length of stay (median 13 vs 19.5 days) and a higher FIM efficiency (mean 2.3 vs 1.2). Patients with a higher frailty score may have a slower 10 Meter Walk Test (10MWT) speed at discharge (Spearman’s rho −0.542). Conclusion Post COVID-19 patients benefit from inpatient rehabilitation with a comprehensive rehabilitation program, and adjunct robotic therapy may be offered to further improve functional outcomes. Frailty may also be considered when establishing rehabilitation goals, as meaningful functional gains can still be achieved.
Objective
To determine and compare the effectiveness of robotic therapy with a patient-guided suspension system for stroke rehabilitation using a 7-days-a-week model of care with that of conventional rehabilitation.
Design
Retrospective cohort study.
Setting
Inpatient rehabilitation unit of an acute general hospital.
Participants
A total of 100 consecutive patients with stroke (N=100) admitted within a 7-month period who fulfilled the criteria to undergo robotic therapy with a patient-guided suspension system were enrolled in this study.
Interventions
Patients either underwent robotic therapy in addition to conventional therapy (robotic group) or conventional therapy only (control group). There were 50 patients in each cohort.
Main Outcome Measures
FIM and its derivatives (FIM gain and FIM efficiency); Berg Balance Scale (BBS), functional ambulation category (FAC); modified Rankin Scale (mRS); and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale.
Results
The average FIM gains in both groups were statistically significant (
P
<.01). The robotic group had greater improvement in FAC scores (1.24 vs 0.78,
P
=.007). However, other measurements such as FIM efficiency, BBS, and mRS were not significantly different between the 2 groups. The robotics group reported high patient satisfaction rates, with most patients finding the intervention both beneficial and desirable.
Conclusions
Adjunct robotic therapy has the potential to increase the efficacy of stroke rehabilitation. However, further studies are needed to strengthen the evidence.
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