Evaluation of clinical effectiveness of blood stasis leaflet in patients with blood stasis: A prospective, randomized, and crossover trial.

BACKGROUND: Blood stasis (BS) refers to a pattern of symptoms resulting from circulatory dysfunction or stagnation in the human body. Due to its historical origin and diverse interpretations, communication between patients and doctors of traditional Korean medicine (DKMs) presents challenges. Efforts to improve patients understanding in traditional Korean medicine (TKM) have led to the development of disease-specific standard clinical practice guidelines. However, there is a limited focus on creating clinical practice guidelines or informative leaflet specifically addressing BS, which is a frequently encountered pattern of symptoms in TKM. METHODS: This study aimed to bridge the gap between patients and DKMs by developing an informative leaflet focusing on BS for metabolic diseases. We assessed its appropriateness through expert advisory meetings and the Delphi process, and evaluated its clinical effectiveness. We conducted a prospective, randomized, crossover trial to compare the clinical effectiveness of using BS leaflets in TKM treatment. The hypothesis investigated whether the leaflet group would show higher scores in satisfaction of DKMs' explanations, understanding of DKMs' explanations, improving the reliability of TKM, satisfaction with treatment time, improvement in explanations compared to previous TKM experiences, and necessity of managing BS treatment, compared to the no-leaflet group. RESULTS: In a study involving 40 patients (mean age: 62.3 ±â€…7.8 years), symptoms persisted for an average of 16.75 ±â€…9.3 hours daily, with a severity rating of 2.53. The leaflet group exhibited significantly higher satisfaction scores than the no-leaflet group in all aspects (all P < .0001). After confirming the absence of sequence and period effects using a linear-mixed effect model, we were able to ascertain the presence of a treatment effect, as evidenced by statistically significant higher scores across all survey items in the leaflet group compared to the no-leaflet group (all P < .0001). CONCLUSION: Expert consensus on symptoms aligning with the BS pattern resulted in the development of an informative leaflet. Its utilization notably improved patient satisfaction, comprehension, and trust in TKM treatment, unaffected by temporal influences, thus demonstrating its clinical effectiveness. In summary, the BS leaflet significantly enhanced patient understanding and optimized treatment procedures.

Validity and Reliability of POM-Checker for Measuring Shoulder Range of Motion in Healthy Participants: A Pilot Single-Center Comparative Study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare shoulder movement measurements between a Kinect-based markerless ROM assessment device (POM-Checker) and a 3D motion capture analysis system (BTS SMART DX-400). METHODS: This was a single-visit clinical trial designed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the POM-Checker. The primary outcome was to assess the equivalence between two measurement devices within the same set of participants, aiming to evaluate the validity of the POM-Checker compared to the gold standard device (3D Motion Analysis System). As this was a pilot study, six participants were included. RESULTS: The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the reproducibility of the measurements. Among the 18 movements analyzed, 16 exhibited ICC values of >0.75, indicating excellent reproducibility. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the POM-checker is reliable and validated to measure the range of motion of the shoulder joint.

Characteristics of Gait Event and Muscle Activation Parameters of the Lower Limb on the Affected Side in Patients With Hemiplegia After Stroke: A Pilot Study.

Objectives: To confirm the characteristics of gait events and muscle activity in the lower limbs of the affected and unaffected sides in patients with hemiplegia. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Motion analysis laboratory of the Wonkwang University Gwangju Hospital. Participants: Outpatients, diagnosed with ischemic stroke more than 3 months and less than 9 months before participating in the study (N=29; 11 men, 18 women). Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: The gait event parameters and time- and frequency-domain electromyogram (EMG) parameters of the lower limbs of the affected and unaffected sides was determined using BTS motion capture with the Delsys Trigno Avanti EMG wireless system. Results: The swing time, stance phase, swing phase, single support phase, and median power frequency of the gastrocnemius muscle showed a significant difference between the affected and unaffected sides. Using a logistic regression model, the swing phase, single support phase, and median frequency of the gastrocnemius muscle were selected to classify the affected side. Conclusion: The single support phase of the affected side is shortened to reduce load bearing, which causes a reduction in the stance phase ratio. Unlike gait-event parameters, EMG data of hemiplegic stroke patients are difficult to generalize. Among them, the logistic regression model with some affected side parameters expected to be set as the severity and improvement baseline of the affected side. Additional data collection and generalization of muscle activity is required to improve the classification model.