Ms Anita Plaza¹, Dr Jennifer Paratz², Dr Michelle  Cottrell¹

¹Royal Brisbane And Women’s Hospital, Herston, Australia, ²Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia

Abstract:

Background: Physiotherapy exercise programs are essential components of burn rehabilitation, however patients often have barriers to accessing these services.  Home-based telerehabilitation (HBT) may be an alternative.

Aim: To determine if exercise programs delivered via HBT were as effective as in-person (IP) programs with respect to clinical outcomes and participant / therapist satisfaction.

Methods: A single centre, randomized, controlled, non-inferiority pilot trial with blinded assessment was undertaken.  Forty-five adults with ≤25% total body surface area (TBSA) burns were randomized to receive a 6-week exercise program delivered either by HBT or IP.  The primary outcome was burn-specific quality of life (Burn Specific Health Scale-Brief).  Secondary outcomes included generic health-related quality of life, burn scar-specific outcomes, exercise self-efficacy, pain severity, muscle strength and range of motion (ROM).  Participant and therapist satisfaction, technical disruptions and adverse events were also recorded.

Results: There were no significant within- or between-group differences for any outcome measures except ROM.  Achievement of full ROM was significantly different between groups at Week 12 (IP=100% vs HBT=70%, p=0.005).  Non-inferiority was inconclusive.  Participant satisfaction was high (median ≥9.8/10), with no significant between-group differences.  Therapist satisfaction with HBT was high (median ≥8.9/10), major technical disruptions low (8%) and no adverse events reported.

Conclusion: HBT is a safe, effective option to deliver exercise programs for patients with burn injuries ≤25% TBSA with comparable clinical outcomes to IP programs.  Ongoing research is required to further analyse ROM outcomes and investigate the effectiveness of HBT for patients with larger burn injuries.

Keywords: Telerehabilitation, Physiotherapy, Exercise, Burns

Biography:

Anita Plaza is a Consultant Physiotherapist at the Professor Stuart Pegg Adult Burn Centre, Brisbane.  She has greater than 25 years of clinical experience working with both adults and children who have sustained burn injuries.  Her current research interests include telehealth exercise prescription, activity mapping and adherence to physiotherapy programs.