Outcome Measures
In this case series, our intervention was associated with improved motor function and increased use of the hemiparetic extremity, as measured by the AAUT and BBT. Despite chronic, and often severe, impairment of hand function, all patients made improvements. The degree of improvement varied significantly among the patients (ie, from 10% to 360% for the AOU scale of the AAUT, from 8% to 190% for quality of movements as measured by the QOM scale of the AAUT, and from 5% to 150% for the BBT). Relatively larger improvements in these measures were made by the 2 patients with the lowest initial scores (patients 1 and 3). We propose that the FM may not be an appropriate instrument for measuring changes associated with this kind of therapy. In order to demonstrate improvement on the FM UE motor test, motor movements must advance from in synergy to out of synergy. However, the primary goal of CIMT is increased use of the affected limb. The training used in CIMT does not focus on facilitation or correction of synergistic patterns that may occur with increased tone (resistance to movement) and spasticity (velocity-dependent hypertonicity). As we did not have a control group, we cannot comment on whether documented gains were due to the intervention or to other factors affecting the results. In general, with a case report such as ours, the lack of treatment effect remains a distinct possibility.
Our findings suggest that the time elapsed since hemispherectomy does not appear to be a factor limiting the efficacy of therapy in patients with chronic impairment. Improvements were seen even 18 years after hemispherectomy. However, the effect of this intervention may be different for children immediately after hemispherectomy. In addition, individual differences due to medical variables such as etiology of disease, seizure control, age at surgery, and cognitive level were problems associated with this case series and with prior research in individuals after hemispherectomy. These combined factors could affect outcomes following therapy and should be investigated as possible covariates.