Abstract
Hands are the most frequent burn injury sites. Appropriate rehabilitation is essential to ensure good functional recovery. Virtual reality (VR)-based rehabilitation has proven to be beneficial for the functional recovery of the upper extremities. We investigated and compared VR-based rehabilitation with conventional rehabilitation (CON) in patients with burned hands. Fifty-seven patients were randomized into a VR or CON group. Each intervention was applied to the affected hand for four weeks, and clinical and functional variables were evaluated. Hand function was evaluated before intervention and four weeks after intervention using the Jebsen-Taylor hand function test (JTT), Grasp and Pinch Power Test, Purdue Pegboard test (PPT), and Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire (MHQ). The JTT scores for picking up small objects and the MHQ scores for hand function, functional ADL, work, pain, aesthetics, and patient satisfaction were significantly higher in the VR group than in the CON group (p < 0.05). The results suggested that VR-based rehabilitation is likely to be as effective as conventional rehabilitation for recovering function in a burned hand. VR-based rehabilitation may be considered as a treatment option for patients with burned hands.
Highlights
The distal parts of the upper extremities are the most common sites of thermal injury
As this was the first study to assess the efficacy of the Virtual reality (VR)-based rehabilitation in patients with burns, power calculation was based on a previous study, which applied VR-based rehabilitation for the distal upper extremity function in patients with stroke [15]
The subtest scores in the Jebsen-Taylor hand function test (JTT) and subscale scores for activities of daily living (ADL), work, pain, and satisfaction in the Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire (MHQ) were significantly higher in the VR group than in the conventional rehabilitation (CON) group
Summary
The distal parts of the upper extremities are the most common sites of thermal injury. Three patients in the VR group and three patients in the CON group dropped out of the study because they recovered function in the injured hand after 20 sessions and could return to their daily life; they did not want to undergo serial evaluations and did not visit the outpatient clinic Data from these subjects were not included in the analyses. The scores after intervention were compared between the two groups using the Mann–Whitney test for grasp strength, lateral pinch strength test, all areas of the PPT, all areas of the MHQ, and all areas of the JTT As this was the first study to assess the efficacy of the VR-based rehabilitation in patients with burns, power calculation was based on a previous study, which applied VR-based rehabilitation for the distal upper extremity function in patients with stroke [15]. We calculated that a minimum 52 patients were needed, considering a 30% dropout rate
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