Predictive Factors for Successful Decannulation in Patients with Tracheostomies and Brain Injuries: A Systematic Review.

Neurological patients frequently have disorders of consciousness, swallowing disorders, or neurological states that are incompatible with extubation. Therefore, they frequently require tracheostomies during their stay in an intensive care unit. After the acute phase, tracheostomy weaning and decannulation are generally expected to promote rehabilitation. However, few reliable predictive factors (PFs) for decannulation have been identified in this patient population. We sought to identify PFs that may be used during tracheostomy weaning and decannulation in patients with brain injuries. We conducted a systematic review of the literature regarding potential PFs for decannulation; searches were performed on 16 March 2021 and 1 June 2022. The following databases were searched: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, PEDro, OPENGREY, OPENSIGLE, Science Direct, CLINICAL TRIALS and CENTRAL. We searched for all article types, except systematic reviews, meta-analyses, abstracts, and position articles. Retrieved articles were published in English or French, with no date restriction. In total, 1433 articles were identified; 26 of these were eligible for inclusion in the review. PFs for successful decannulation in patients with acquired brain injuries (ABIs) included high neurological status, traumatic brain injuries rather than stroke or anoxic brain lesions, younger age, effective swallowing, an effective cough, and the absence of pulmonary infections. Secondary PFs included early tracheostomy, supratentorial lesions, the absence of critical illness polyneuropathy/myopathy, and the absence of tracheal lesions. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review to identify PFs for decannulation in patients with ABIs. These PFs may be used by clinicians during tracheostomy weaning.

Awakening the control of the ankle dorsiflexors in the post-stroke hemiplegic subject to improve walking activity and social participation: the WAKE (Walking Ankle isoKinetic Exercise) randomised, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Stroke is the leading cause of acquired disability in France. While 90% of patients recover the ability to walk, it is often limited with a steady speed of approximately 0.7 m/s. This limitation of walking activity is partly related to a decrease in strength associated with more or less significant spasticity. In particular, it seems that the strength of the dorsiflexor muscles is directly related to walking speed. We hypothesise that a protocol based on gestural repetition targeted at the ankle during the subacute phase potentiates the recovery of motor control, improving walking activity, and participates in recovering better social participation. METHODS: An estimated total of 60 patients with subacute stroke will be recruited to participate in this multicentre, interventional, prospective, randomised controlled trial. All participants will benefit from conventional rehabilitation. In addition, the experimental group will take part in an ankle isokinetic rehabilitation programme for 6 weeks (at least 25 sessions). The control group will receive the same duration of conventional rehabilitation. The primary outcome measure will be a 10-m walking speed at post-intervention. Secondary outcomes will include social participation, walking spatio-temporal parameters, and dorsiflexor strength. Outcome measurements will be taken at baseline, immediately after treatment (6 weeks), then at 6 months and 1 year of follow-up. DISCUSSION: This study aims to provide scientific evidence that a protocol based on an early over-solicitation of the ankle dorsiflexor muscles to promote their "awakening" can serve to achieve a more effective walking activity, which in turn encourages social participation following discharge from the hospital. This protocol should also help optimise physical medicine and rehabilitation practices: the more systematic use of the isokinetic dynamometer as a technique associated with, and integrated into the conventional rehabilitation protocol would allow an objective evaluation of the rehabilitation benefits and should increase the rehabilitation gain in central nervous system disorders. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Limoges University Hospital is the sponsor of this research (Unique Protocol ID: 87RI18_0010) This research is supported by the French Ministry of Health (PHRC 2020-A03328-31) and is conducted with the support of DGOS (PHRC interregional - GIRCI SOHO). The study protocol was approved by the French Human Subjects Protection Review Board (Comité de Protection des Personnes Nord-Ouest III) on February 23, 2021. The trial was registered in the ClinicalTrials.gov registry ( NCT04800601 ) on March 16, 2021.

A systematic review of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in aphasia rehabilitation: Leads for future studies.

BACKGROUND: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive tool that induces neuromodulation in the brain. Several studies have shown that rTMS improves language recovery in patients with post-stroke aphasia. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review summarizes the role of rTMS in aphasia rehabilitation. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE via PubMed and Scopus on 30October, 2020, for English articles (1996-2020). Eligible studies involved post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation with rTMS. In some of these studies, rTMS was also combined with speech therapy. RESULTS: In total, seven meta-analyses and 59studies (23randomized clinical trials) were included in this systematic review. The methods used in these studies were heterogeneous. Only six studies did not find that rTMS had a significant effect on language performance. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence from the peer-reviewed literature suggests that rTMS is an effective tool in post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation. However, the precise mechanisms that underlie the effects of rTMS and the reorganization of language networks in patients who have had a stroke remain unclear. We discuss these crucial challenges in the context of future studies.

Effects of robotic gait training after stroke: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Robotic devices are often used in rehabilitation and might be efficient to improve walking capacity after stroke. OBJECTIVE: First to investigate the effects of robot-assisted gait training after stroke and second to explain the observed heterogeneity of results in previous meta-analyses. METHODS: All randomized controlled trials investigating exoskeletons or end-effector devices in adult patients with stroke were searched in databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, OPENGREY, OPENSIGLE, PEDRO, WEB OF SCIENCE, CLINICAL TRIALS, conference proceedings) from inception to November 2019, as were bibliographies of previous meta-analyses, independently by 2 reviewers. The following variables collected before and after the rehabilitation program were gait speed, gait endurance, Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Functional Ambulation Classification (FAC) and Timed Up and Go scores. We also extracted data on randomization method, blinding of outcome assessors, drop-outs, intention (or not) to treat, country, number of participants, disease duration, mean age, features of interventions, and date of outcomes assessment. RESULTS: We included 33 studies involving 1466 participants. On analysis by subgroups of intervention, as compared with physiotherapy alone, physiotherapy combined with body-weight support training and robot-assisted gait training conferred greater improvement in gait speed (+0.09m/s, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.03 to 0.15; p=0.002), FAC scores (+0.51, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.95; p=0.022) and BBS scores (+4.16, 95% CI 2.60 to 5.71; p=0.000). A meta-regression analysis suggested that these results were underestimated by the attrition bias of studies. CONCLUSIONS: Robot-assisted gait training combined with physiotherapy and body-weight support training seems an efficient intervention for gait recovery after stroke.