Predictors of Clinically Important Changes in Actual and Perceived Functional Arm Use of the Affected Upper Limb After Rehabilitative Therapy in Chronic Stroke

Objective: To identify the predictors of minimal clinically important changes in actual and perceived functional arm use of the affected upper limb after rehabilitative therapy. Design: Retrospective, observational cohort study. Setting: Outpatient rehabilitation settings. Participants: A cohort of 94 patients with chronic stroke. Interventions: Patients received robot-assisted therapy, mirror therapy, or combined therapy for 4 weeks. Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome measures, assessed pre- and post intervention, included actual functional arm use measured by an accelerometer and perceived functional arm use measured by the Motor Activity Log (MAL). Candidate predictors included age, sex, time after stroke, side of stroke, and scores on the Fugl-Meyer Assessment, Modified Ashworth Scale, Medical Research Council scale, Wolf Motor Function Test, MAL (quality of movement), and Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living. Results: Being male (odds ratio [OR], 3.17; 95% CI, 1.13-8.87) and having a higher than median Medical Research Council score (OR, 2.68; 95% CI, 1.12-6.41) significantly predicted minimal clinically important changes assessed by an accelerometer. Fugl-Meyer Assessment scores (odds ratio, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.02-1.11) were a significant predictor of achieving clinically important changes in MAL amount of use. Wolf Motor Function Test (quality) scores (OR, 3.05; 95% CI, 1.38-6.77) could predict clinically important improvements in MAL quality of movement. Conclusions: Predictors of clinically important changes in the use of the affected upper limb after robot-assisted therapy, mirror therapy, or combined therapy in patients with chronic stroke for 4 weeks differ for actual vs perceived use. Further studies are recommended to validate these findings in a larger sample.