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Purpose

Following upper limb surgeries, patients could receive occupational therapy either in-person or remotely (teletherapy). The investigators currently do not know which occupational therapy delivery is better in terms of clinical outcomes and patient recovery. The proposed study is a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) testing the feasibility of comparing in-person occupational therapy to teletherapy following operative fixation of upper extremity fracture. It is a single site, parallel-arm, randomized controlled trial to compare teletherapy versus in-person occupational therapy. Patients who are eligible will be randomized similar to a flip of a coin (1:1) to occupational therapy in-person or through a telemedicine platform. Patients would also complete surveys at each follow-up visit to measure clinical outcomes.

Conditions

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 18 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • Participants must have had operative fixation of upper extremity fracture located between the humeral shaft and distal radius (inclusive) who are indicated for outpatient occupational therapy. - Participants at least 18 years (≥ 18 years of age). - English-speaking participants

Exclusion Criteria

  • Participants unable to consent - Vulnerable populations including prisoners and marginally housed patients - Additional traumatic conditions that may affect the ultimate-use pattern of the injured limb including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, peripheral nerve injury, or associated soft tissue injury requiring specific postoperative activity modifications. - Contralateral upper extremity injury that prevents participating in the standardized exercises. - Initiation of occupational therapy (OT) during an inpatient hospital stay - Pre-existing comorbidities that may interfere with communication or that may limit the use of standard telecommunications tools (sight/hearing impaired, speech impaired) - Patients without a smart-phone or internet access.

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Other
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Active Comparator
In-person occupational therapy 		occupational therapy delivered in-person
  • Other: occupational therapy
    occupational therapy sessions include a set of standardized test exercises plus additional modalities that are optimized to each patient's needs according to the clinical judgement of the treating therapist
Active Comparator
Teletherapy 		Video-conferencing occupational therapy
  • Other: occupational therapy
    occupational therapy sessions include a set of standardized test exercises plus additional modalities that are optimized to each patient's needs according to the clinical judgement of the treating therapist

More Details

Status
Withdrawn
Sponsor
University of Maryland, Baltimore

Study Contact

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.