Effect of transcranial direct current stimulation of stroke patients on depression and quality of life.
Tae-Gyu An, Soo-Han Kim, Ko-Un Kim
PMID 28356641WHAT IT FOUND
Stroke patients with severe depression who received conventional occupational therapy plus tDCS had lower depression scores and higher quality-of-life scores than those receiving conventional occupational therapy plus false tDCS.
Key findings
01Depression scores decreased significantly in the tDCS group from 38.8 to 16.8, while the false tDCS group changed from 39.0 to 37.8 without statistical significance.
02Quality of life scores increased significantly in the tDCS group from 152.1 to 167.7, while the false tDCS group changed from 154.3 to 162.1 without statistical significance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only 40 patients were studied, and the authors say the results are difficult to generalize. Patients were assigned by odd or even admission order, not by a random method. Both groups received conventional occupational therapy, so this trial cannot show what tDCS alone would do. The authors did not investigate other factors that influence quality of life.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that tDCS alone improved depression or quality of life. Every patient also received conventional occupational therapy, and the groups were assigned by admission order rather than random allocation.