Nutritional Therapy in Older Patients With Hip Fractures Undergoing Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Older people with hip fractures are often undernourished, which adversely affects their functional prognosis. A previous review reported that oral multinutritional supplements may prevent complications after hip fracture surgery. However, it is unclear whether interventions that combine rehabilitation and nutritional therapy have prognostic benefits. The objective of this study was to determine whether nutritional therapy is effective for patients with hip fractures undergoing rehabilitation. DESIGN: Systematic literature review and meta-analysis. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Randomized controlled trials involving patients at least 65 years of age with hip fracture undergoing rehabilitation with or without nutritional therapy. Older patients with hip fractures undergoing rehabilitation were included. METHODS: A systematic literature search using 5 databases (PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, WHO ICTRP, and Ichu-shi Web) was conducted in December 2018 and identified all randomized controlled trials. Outcome variables include mortality, complications, activities of daily living, quality of life, and muscle strength. RESULTS: Of the 1431 studies found, 10 met the inclusion criteria, involving a total of 1119 patients. Four studies reported mortality, 5 studies reported complications, and 4 studies reported grip strength. Nutritional therapy showed a significant reduction in mortality [relative risk (RR) 0.61, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.39, 0.93; I2 = 0%] and complications (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.44, 1.03; I2 = 79%), and improved grip strength (mean difference = 2.01, 95% CI 0.81, 3.22; I2 = 0%). The effects of nutritional therapy on activities of daily living, quality of life, and knee extension strength are unknown. The majority of studies were assessed as low quality. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Our study showed that the combination of rehabilitation and nutritional therapy for older patients with hip fractures reduced mortality and postoperative complications and enhanced grip strength, although the quality of the evidence was low. A well-designed controlled study is needed for further investigation.

Repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation for impairment and disability in people after stroke.

BACKGROUND: Repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation (rPMS) is a non-invasive treatment method that can penetrate to deeper structures with painless stimulation to improve motor function in people with physical impairment due to brain or nerve disorders. rPMS for people after stroke has proved to be a feasible approach to improving activities of daily living and functional ability. However, the effectiveness and safety of this intervention for people after stroke currently remain uncertain. This is an update of the review published in 2017. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of rPMS in improving activities of daily living and functional ability in people after stroke. SEARCH METHODS: On 7 January 2019, we searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), in the Cochrane Library; MEDLINE; Embase; the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL); PsycINFO; the Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED); Occupational Therapy Systematic Evaluation of Evidence (OTseeker); the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro); ICHUSHI Web; and six ongoing trial registries. We screened reference lists, and we contacted experts in the field. We placed no restrictions on the language or date of publication when searching electronic databases. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) conducted to assess the therapeutic effect of rPMS for people after stroke. Comparisons eligible for inclusion were (1) active rPMS only compared with 'sham' rPMS (a very weak form of stimulation or a sound only); (2) active rPMS only compared with no intervention; (3) active rPMS plus rehabilitation compared with sham rPMS plus rehabilitation; and (4) active rPMS plus rehabilitation compared with rehabilitation only. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently assessed studies for inclusion. The same review authors assessed methods and risk of bias, undertook data extraction, and used the GRADE approach to assess the quality of evidence. We contacted trial authors to request unpublished information if necessary. We resolved all disagreements through discussion. MAIN RESULTS: We included four trials (three RCTs and one cross-over trial) involving 139 participants. Blinding of participants and physicians was well reported within all trials. We judged the overall risk of bias across trials as low. Only two trials (with 63 and 18 participants, respectively) provided sufficient information to be included in the meta-analysis. We found no clear effect of rPMS on activities of daily living at the end of treatment (mean difference (MD) -3.00, 95% confidence interval (CI) -16.35 to 10.35; P = 0.66; 1 trial; 63 participants; low-quality evidence) and at the end of follow-up (MD -2.00, 95% CI -14.86 to 10.86; P = 0.76; 1 trial; 63 participants; low-quality evidence) when comparing rPMS plus rehabilitation versus sham plus rehabilitation. We found no statistical difference in improvement of upper limb function at the end of treatment (MD 2.00, 95% CI -4.91 to 8.91; P = 0.57; 1 trial; 63 participants; low-quality evidence) and at the end of follow-up (MD 4.00, 95% CI -2.92 to 10.92; P = 0.26; 1 trial; 63 participants; low-quality evidence) when comparing rPMS plus rehabilitation versus sham plus rehabilitation. We observed a significant decrease in spasticity of the elbow at the end of follow-up (MD -0.48, 95% CI -0.93 to -0.03; P = 0.03; 1 trial; 63 participants; low-quality evidence) when comparing rPMS plus rehabilitation versus sham plus rehabilitation. In terms of muscle strength, rPMS treatment was not associated with improved muscle strength of the ankle dorsiflexors at the end of treatment (MD 3.00, 95% CI -2.44 to 8.44; P = 0.28; 1 trial; 18 participants; low-quality evidence) when compared with sham rPMS. No studies provided information on lower limb function or adverse events, including death. Based on the GRADE approach, we judged the quality of evidence related to the primary outcome as low, owing to the small sample size of the studies. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Available trials provided insufficient evidence to permit any conclusions about routine use of rPMS for people after stroke. Additional trials with large sample sizes are needed to provide robust evidence for rPMS after stroke.