Necessity to Develop a Tool to Evaluate Activity of Daily Living for Electric Powered Indoor/Outdoor Chair Users

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate changes in activity of daily living before and after provision of electric-powered indoor/outdoor chair (EPIOC), discuss problems of current activities of daily living (ADL) evaluating tools for EPIOC users, and provide preliminary data to develop ADL evaluation tool for EPIOC user. METHODS: A total of 70 users who were prescribed EPIOC and had been using for more than 1 year were recruited in this study. Before and after provision of EPIOC, MBI and FIM scores were measured and a questionnaire consisting of six categories (general socioeconomic states, currently using state, whether EPIOC was helpful for social participation and occupational chances, psychiatric influences, self-reported degrees of independency, and barriers of using EPIOC) was used. RESULTS: No difference in MBI scores before and after provision of EPIOC was observed. However, the wheelchair ambulation category showed a significant difference. While motor FIM was not significantly different from MBI, FIM score were significantly (p<0.05) higher than MBI. For questions regarding social participation frequency, helpfulness of EPIOC on confidence, refreshing patients' emotions and self-reported degrees of independence, all of them showed positive responses. Especially, EPIOC users' self-reported degree of independency showed favorable results. There was discrepancy in MBI or FIM measured by physicians. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that there was a gap between the existing ADL evaluation tool and the ADL level that EPIOC users were actually feeling. Thus, it is necessary to develop an evaluation tool specifically for EPIOC.

Central Hyperthermia Treated With Baclofen for Patient With Pontine Hemorrhage

Central hyperthermia is a very rare disease; however, once it happens, it is associated with a poor prognosis and high mortality for patients with severe brainstem strokes. Following a pontine hemorrhage, a 46-years-old female developed prolonged hyperthermia. Work-ups to the fever gave no significant clues for the origin of fever, and hyperthermia did not respond to any empirical antibiotics or antipyretic agents. The patient's body temperature still fluctuated in a range of 37.5degrees C to 39.2degrees C. Considering the lesion of hemorrhage, we suspected central hyperthermia rather than infectious diseases. We started with baclofen administration at a dose of 30 mg/day. The body temperature changed to a range of 36.6degrees C to 38.2degrees C. We raised the dose of baclofen to 60 mg/day. The patient's body temperature finally dropped to a normal range. Central hyperthermia, caused by failures of thermoregulatory pathways in brainstem, following the pontine hemorrhage rarely occurs. Baclofen can be used to treat suspected central hyperthermia in a patient with pontine hemorrhage.

Central Hyperthermia Treated With Baclofen for Patient With Pontine Hemorrhage

Central hyperthermia is a very rare disease; however, once it happens, it is associated with a poor prognosis and high mortality for patients with severe brainstem strokes. Following a pontine hemorrhage, a 46-years-old female developed prolonged hyperthermia. Work-ups to the fever gave no significant clues for the origin of fever, and hyperthermia did not respond to any empirical antibiotics or antipyretic agents. The patient's body temperature still fluctuated in a range of 37.5degrees C to 39.2degrees C. Considering the lesion of hemorrhage, we suspected central hyperthermia rather than infectious diseases. We started with baclofen administration at a dose of 30 mg/day. The body temperature changed to a range of 36.6degrees C to 38.2degrees C. We raised the dose of baclofen to 60 mg/day. The patient's body temperature finally dropped to a normal range. Central hyperthermia, caused by failures of thermoregulatory pathways in brainstem, following the pontine hemorrhage rarely occurs. Baclofen can be used to treat suspected central hyperthermia in a patient with pontine hemorrhage.

Analysis of Publication Status of Abstracts Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Korean Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine

OBJECTIVE: To analyze publication rate, time to publication and the characteristics of the abstracts presented at the annual Korean Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine (KARM) meetings. METHODS: A total of 1,027 abstracts presented at the 2008 and 2009 annual KARM meetings were enrolled in the database and searched for their subsequent citation in PubMed, KoreaMed, and Google Scholar. RESULTS: The data analysis revealed that 317 (30.87%) abstracts, were published as full-length journal articles and publication rates by subject were not significantly different. The mean time to publication was 17.17+/-10.48 months, and the journals written in English (20.39+/-10.20) required a longer duration than those written in Korean (11.94+/-8.44) with statistical significance (p<0.001). There was no statistical difference (p=0.284) in the duration between domestic (17.61+/-10.37) and foreign (16.48+/-10.51) of the 220 domestic journal articles, 190 (86.76%) were published in the Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine and the 97 articles published in foreign journals were scattered over 60 different journals. CONCLUSION: The publication rate of abstracts presented at the 2008 and 2009 annual KARM meetings was 30.87% and the mean time to publication was 17.17+/-10.48 months.

Therapeutic Effects of Mechanical Horseback Riding on Gait and Balance Ability in Stroke Patients

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the therapeutic effects of mechanical horseback riding for gait and balance parameters in post-stroke patients. METHOD: This study was a non randomized prospective positive-controlled trial over a 12 week period. From May 2011 to October 2011, 37 stroke patients were recruited from our outpatient clinic and divided into two groups. The control group received the conventional physiotherapy while the intervention group received the conventional physiotherapy along with mechanical horseback riding therapy for 12 weeks. Outcome measurements of gait included the Functional Ambulation Category (FAC) and gait part of the Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (G-POMA) while those of balance included the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and the balance part of the Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (B-POMA). These measurements were taken before and after treatment. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics and initial values between the two groups. When comparing baseline and 12 weeks post treatment in each group, the intervention group showed significant improvement on BBS (39.9+/-5.7 --> 45.7+/-4.8, p=0.001) and B-POMA (10.4+/-2.6 --> 12.6+/-2.1, p=0.001), but significant improvement on gait parameters. When comparing the groups, the dynamic balance category of BBS in post treatment showed significant difference (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that mechanical horseback riding therapy may be an effective treatment tool for enhancing balance in adults with stroke.