Methods for assessment of patient adherence to removable orthoses used after surgery or trauma to the appendicular skeleton: a systematic review

What are the barriers to upper limb splint adherence, and how is adherence measured? A systematic review

Introduction

Non-adherence to splint wearing following an upper limb traumatic injury is a significant medical issue. Optimal outcome following such injuries relies on people adhering to the prescribed splint, and a failure to do so can negatively impact outcome and increase healthcare burden and costs. This systematic review aims to compare and synthesise the evidence related to measuring adherence to wear recommendations and the barriers to splint wearing following upper limb trauma in adults.

Methods

Databases (EBSCO, PubMed, EMBASE and Science Direct) were systematically searched for articles that met the pre-agreed eligibility criteria between February and May 2023. Data on study characteristics and reported outcomes relating to measuring and quantifying splint adherence and barriers to adherence were extracted.

Results

A total of 16 articles were included for final review. Several methods were used to measure adherence, with no single tool used predominantly. These included patient or therapist reported data, preexisting classification systems and an electronic device. Methods used to quantify adherence was also heterogenous in nature, and a range of investigator and patient reported barriers to splint wearing were reported.

Conclusion

This review demonstrates heterogeneity in both classifying and measuring splint adherence, as well as in the barriers to splint wearing reported. Moving forward, using agreed measurement and reporting practices for splint adherence will enable researchers to complete high quality trials to determine splinting outcomes, and may ultimately enable health care professionals to improve adherence and, subsequently, outcomes in clinical practice.

Improving Patient Recall Following Operative Orthopaedic Trauma

BACKGROUND

Orthopaedic trauma patients may experience poor recall regarding their injury and treatment, impairing postoperative outcomes. We sought to evaluate the impact of a standardized postoperative educational protocol on patient recall, adherence to the treatment plan, and satisfaction.

METHODS

Two hundred and twenty adult, English-speaking patients with surgically treated lower-extremity fractures were prospectively included. One hundred and ten patients in the educational intervention cohort met with a non-physician study member after surgery but before hospital discharge. They were given a written questionnaire evaluating knowledge of key aspects of their injury and treatment plan. For incorrectly answered questions, the study team member told the patient the correct answer (e.g., "No, you broke your tibia."). Immediately after, the patient was verbally asked the question again (e.g., "Which bone did you break?"), repeating the process until the answer was correct. The 110 patients in the control cohort did not receive this "teach-back" protocol. During their first postoperative appointment, all 220 patients completed a follow-up questionnaire assessing recall, adherence to the treatment plan, and satisfaction.

RESULTS

The control cohort correctly answered 64% of recall-oriented questions versus 89% in the intervention cohort (p < 0.001). Eighty-two percent of control patients versus 89% patients in the intervention cohort adhered to postoperative weight-bearing restrictions (p = 0.09). Eighty-four percent of controls adhered to their deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis regimen versus 99% of the intervention cohort (p < 0.001). On a 5-point Likert scale, controls were less satisfied with their overall orthopaedic care compared with patients in the intervention cohort (mean of 4.38 ± 0.84 versus 4.54 ± 0.63 points; p = 0.02), although this difference was less than the minimal clinically relevant difference of 10% that was defined at study onset. On propensity score-weighted multivariable analysis, receipt of the postoperative educational intervention was the only modifiable factor associated with improvement in patient recall (26% improvement [95% confidence interval, 20% to 31%]; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Some orthopaedic trauma patients' nonadherence to surgeon recommendations and dissatisfaction with care may be mitigated by postoperative education. This standardized postoperative educational protocol improves orthopaedic trauma patients' recall, adherence to their treatment plan, and satisfaction in a manner requiring minimal time.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Prognostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Prevalence and factors associated with medication adherence in children with central precocious puberty: a cross-sectional study

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and influencing factors of medication adherence in children with central precocious puberty (CPP), and provide references for clinical practice. Methods: Children under 12 years of age with CPP and their caregivers at a women's and children's hospital were selected for a cross-sectional study from February to May 2023, and a questionnaire was used to collect basic characteristics of pediatric patients and their caregivers, information of medication, cognition of medication, and medication adherence. The 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) was adopted to assess medication adherence, and the potential influencing factors were explored by univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: A total of 125 valid questionnaires were collected. The medication adherence rate of children with CPP reported by caregivers was 76.0%. The univariate analysis showed that the percentage of parental caregivers (p = 0.027), the age of caregivers (p = 0.029), the education level of caregivers (p = 0.001), the financial burden (p < 0.000), the incidence of adverse effects (p = 0.008), and the cognition of medication including the importance of medication (p = 0.002), the dosage of medication (p = 0.002), the adverse effects of medication (p = 0.007), the harm of non-compliance with medication (p < 0.000), and the evaluation of the price of medication (p = 0.003) in the poor adherence group were significantly inferior to those in the better adherence group. The multivariate analysis showed that the higher incidence of adverse effects (p = 0.20), not understanding the harm of non-compliance with medication (p = 0.004), and evaluation of the price of medication as expensive (p = 0.043) were independent risk factors for poor medication adherence. Conclusion: Medication adherence in children with CPP is relatively better, and the factors leading to poor medication adherence are mainly on the caregivers of pediatric patients. It is recommended to increase the health education among caregivers of children with CPP to enhance the cognition of the condition and medication, and further improve the therapeutic efficacy for CPP.

Factors associated with return to play following conservative treatment for lumbar spondylolysis among young athletes: A retrospective case series using structural equation modeling

INTRODUCTION

Lumbar spondylolysis is the most common underlying cause of lower back pain (LBP) in young athletes. Conservative treatment methods are often used to reduce pain and promote healing. Several parameters may affect the duration of conservative treatment, such as the time to return to play (RTP), patient behavior, and physical parameters; however, no study has comprehensively assessed the factors that affect the time to RTP.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to determine the factors associated with the time required for RTP among young athletes with early-stage spondylolysis receiving conservative treatment using structural equation modeling (SEM).

METHODS

In this retrospective case series, 137 young athletes (128 males and 9 females, aged 9-18 years) with early-stage lumbar spondylolysis were enrolled. All patients were examined using plain radiography and magnetic resonance imaging and treated conservatively (sports cessation, wearing a corset, therapeutic exercises, and low-intensity pulsed ultrasound radiation). SEM was used to investigate the factors affecting the time to RTP in these patients.

RESULTS

The final model included the following factors: spondylolysis laterality, symptom duration, lower-extremity flexibility, treatment interval, patient adherence, and residual LBP. SEM revealed that patient adherence to physician orders (p < 0.01), treatment interval (p < 0.001), and spondylolysis laterality (p < 0.001) contributed directly to shortened RTP.

CONCLUSION

Patient adherence is essential for reducing the time to RTP among young athletes receiving conservative treatment for early-stage spondylolysis.

Examining factors that influence medication adherence with children seen at outpatient department in Western China: a cross-sectional survey

We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of medication adherence, assess the association between guardians' mental health and medication adherence for children seen at outpatient department from western China, and identify characteristics associated with nonadherence. We conducted a cross-sectional survey. Participants were recruited by consecutive sampling from the outpatient of the West China Second Hospital from October 2021 to April 2022. The Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) was used to evaluate patients' medication adherence. A multivariate linear regression model was used to analyze influencing factors. 1206 children with a mean age of 6.02 ± 3.86 years were included. Seventeen percent (208/1206) of patients showed good adherence, 24.7% (298/1206) showed moderate adherence, and 58% (700/1206) showed poor adherence. Thirty-five percent (428/1206) of guardians had anxiety. Factors that influenced medication adherence included anxiety score of guardian (P = 0.030), education level of guardian (P = 0.003), annual household income (P = 0.001), and days the patient is on the medication (P = 0.023). A majority of children seen at outpatient department from West China had low medication adherence, and depression and anxiety among guardians were common. Implementing health education measures will be important for improving medication adherence in future.

Objective Methods of Monitoring Usage of Orthotic Devices for the Extremities: A Systematic Review

Orthoses are commonly prescribed to relieve symptoms for musculoskeletal and neurological conditions; however, patients stop wearing orthoses as recommended for many reasons. When considering the effectiveness of orthoses, there needs to be an objective way to monitor whether participants wear the orthosis as instructed, because if this is not followed, the orthoses will not work as intended. This review aimed to identify, summarise, and compare objective methods used to measure compliance with orthoses applied to the extremities. Databases (Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, and MEDLINE) were searched for eligible studies. Twenty-three studies were accepted in the final review, including five studies that employed upper limb orthoses, two that employed hip orthoses, and fifteen that employed lower limb orthoses. To measure compliance objectively, studies utilised temperature sensors, pressure sensors, accelerometers, a step counter, or a combination of sensors. All sensor types have their own advantages and disadvantages and should be chosen based on study-specific parameters. Sensor-derived monitoring provides quantitative, objective data that are beneficial in both clinical and research settings. The ideal solution to monitoring compliance would consist of both objective and user-reported aspects that, in combination, would provide an all-encompassing picture of the orthotic treatment prescribed.

Relative motion orthoses for early active motion after finger extensor and flexor tendon repairs: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

The relative motion (RM) orthosis was introduced over 40 years ago for extensor tendon rehabilitation and more recently applied to flexor tendon repairs.

PURPOSE

We systematically reviewed the evidence for RM orthoses following surgical repair of finger extensor and flexor tendon injuries including indications for use, configuration and schedule of orthosis wear, and clinical outcomes.

STUDY DESIGN

Systematic review.

METHODS

A PRISMA-compliant systematic review searched eight databases and five trial registries, from database inception to January 7, 2022. The protocol was registered prospectively (CRD42020211579). We identified studies describing patients undergoing rehabilitation using RM orthoses after surgical repair of acute tendon injuries of the finger and hand.

RESULTS

For extensor tendon repairs, ten studies, one trial registry and five conference abstracts met inclusion criteria, reporting outcomes of 521 patients with injuries in zones IV-VII. Miller's criteria were predominantly used to report range of motion; with 89.6% and 86.9% reporting good or excellent outcomes for extension lag and flexion deficit, respectively. For flexor tendon repairs, one retrospective case series was included reporting outcomes in eight patients following zones I-II repairs. Mean total active motion was 86%. No tendon ruptures were reported due to the orthosis not protecting the repair for either the RME or RMF approaches.

DISCUSSION

Variation was seen in use of RME plus or only, use of night orthoses and orthotic wear schedules, which may be the result of evolution of the RM approach. Since Hirth et al's 2016 scoping review, there are five additional studies, including two RCTs reporting the use of the RM orthosis in extensor tendon rehabilitation.

CONCLUSIONS

There is now good evidence that the RM approach is safe in zones V-VI extensor tendon repairs. Limited evidence currently exists for zones IV and VII extensor and for flexor tendon repairs. Further high-quality clinical studies are needed to demonstrate its safety and efficacy.

Current practice in the measurement and interpretation of intervention adherence in randomised controlled trials: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Ideally all participants in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) should fully receive their allocated intervention; however, this rarely occurs in practice. Intervention adherence affects Type II error so influences the interpretation of trial results and subsequent implementation. We aimed to describe current practice in the definition, measurement, and reporting of intervention adherence in non-pharmacological RCTs, and how this data is incorporated into a trial's interpretation and conclusions.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review of phase III RCTs published between January 2018 and June 2020 in the National Institute for Health Research Journals Library for the Health Technology Assessment, Programme Grants for Applied Research, and Public Health Research funding streams.

RESULTS

Of 237 reports published, 76 met the eligibility criteria and were included. Most RCTs (n = 68, 89.5%) reported adherence, though use of terminology varied widely; nearly three quarters of these (n = 49, 72.1%) conducted a sensitivity analysis. Adherence measures varied between intervention types: behavioural change (n = 10, 43.5%), psychological therapy (n = 5, 83.3%) and physiotherapy/rehabilitation (n = 8, 66.7%) interventions predominately measured adherence based on session attendance. Whereas medical device and surgical interventions (n = 17, 73.9%) primarily record the number of participants receiving the allocated intervention, a third (n = 33, 67.3%) of studies reported a difference in findings between primary and sensitivity analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

Although most trials report elements of adherence, terminology was inconsistent, and there was no systematic approach to its measurement, analyses, interpretation, or reporting. Given the importance of adherence within clinical trials, there is a pressing need for a standardised approach or framework.