| Multidisciplinary Therapy May Improve Systemic Sclerosis |
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| Wednesday, 15 June 2011 00:22 |
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For patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a multidisciplinary program offers better improvement of grip strength, maximal mouth opening (MMO), six-minute walk distance (6MWD), and SSc Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) score than regular outpatient care, according to a study published in the June issue of Arthritis Care & Research.
Anne A. Schouffoer, M.D., from the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, and colleagues compared the effectiveness of a 12-week multidisciplinary team care program (once weekly, individual treatments, group exercises, and education) with usual outpatient care in patients with SSc. A total of 28 patients, with an average age of 53.9 years, were randomly assigned to the intervention group (25 completed the treatment program), and 25 patients were randomized to the control group (average age of 51.7 years). Hand mobility in scleroderma test, grip strength, MMO, 6MWD, maximum aerobic capacity, Checklist Individual Strength 20, HAQ, and Short Form-36 were the outcome measures assessed at zero, 12, and 24 weeks. The investigators found that, at 12 weeks, there was a significant improvement in grip strength, MMO, 6MWD, and HAQ score in the intervention group. The differences for the other outcome measures were not significant between groups. The effect on grip strength persisted at 24 weeks. "A 12-week day-patient multidisciplinary program resulted in a greater improvement of grip strength, MMO, 6MWD, and HAQ score than regular outpatient care," the authors write. Source: DoctorsLounge (2011), "Multidisciplinary Therapy May Improve Systemic Sclerosis"; source article with additional links can be viewed here. |
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