Prism Adaptation Treatment Improves Inpatient Rehabilitation Outcome in Individuals With Spatial Neglect: A Retrospective Matched Control Study.
Peii Chen, Nicole Diaz-Segarra, Kimberly Hreha and 2 others
PMID 34589681WHAT IT FOUND
In matched patients with spatial neglect, those who received prism adaptation did not reach clinically important gains or go home more often, though total and cognitive functional independence scores were higher.
Key findings
01In the matched analysis, treated patients had significantly higher total and cognitive Functional Independence Measure scores at discharge, but motor scores did not differ.
02Treated patients did not have significantly higher odds of reaching the minimal clinically important difference in total, motor, or cognitive Functional Independence Measure scores.
03Treated patients did not have significantly higher odds of being discharged home.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
This was a retrospective study, not a randomized trial. Patients received prism adaptation depending on hospital rollout timing and therapist judgment, so unmeasured differences between groups are possible. Prism adaptation was delivered during ordinary occupational therapy time, and the study did not record total therapy minutes or other discipline treatments, so the contribution of prism adaptation alone cannot be separated from usual care. Only 34.7% of treated patients received the defined 8 to 12 sessions, and short length of stay may have limited treatment completion. The analysis included 312 matched patients, and 88% were stroke survivors, so results may not apply to other brain injury groups or to patients discharged back to acute care. Outcomes were measured only at discharge, not after patients returned to the community, so lasting effects are unknown. Different hospitals had different routines, and therapist proficiency with the assessment and treatment tools was not measured.
Declared interests
No funding or conflict-of-interest declaration is provided in the supplied text. The prism kit is listed as Kessler Foundation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that prism adaptation caused better rehabilitation outcomes. This was a retrospective matched comparison, not a randomized trial, and the treated group did not reach clinically important gains or home discharge more often.