Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
McCausland Center For Brain Imaging, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2020 Aug 4;29(3):1376-1388. doi: 10.1044/2020_AJSLP-19-00037. Epub 2020 May 20.
Purpose The objectives of this study are to (a) identify speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') familiarity with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), (b) quantify what SLPs consider necessary tDCS-related improvement in aphasia severity (i.e., tDCS enhancement; desired improvement above and beyond traditional behavioral therapy) to implement this adjuvant therapy for the clinical management of aphasia, and (c) identify concerns that could potentially hinder the clinical adoption of tDCS. Method A brief (14-question) survey was disseminated via e-mail and social media outlets targeting SLPs working with individuals with aphasia. Results Two hundred twenty-one individuals responded, and 155 valid surveys were analyzed. Seventy-one percent of participants reported familiarity with tDCS prior to taking the survey. Clinicians reported a desired mean enhancement of 22.9% additional points on the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised Aphasia Quotient. Importantly, 94.2% of SLPs reported concerns regarding the implementation of tDCS in clinical settings (i.e., safety, cost, administrative approval, reimbursement and training). Conclusions This is the first study to identify SLPs' perspectives regarding the clinical adoption of tDCS. Results suggest the majority of queried SLPs were familiar with tDCS prior to taking the survey. Although SLPs report a desired improvement of approximately 23% additional points on the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised Aphasia Quotient to consider adopting tDCS into practice, many SLPs reported concerns regarding clinical adoption. Responses from the current survey offer important preliminary evidence to begin bridging the research-to-practice gap as it relates to the clinical implementation of tDCS. Relatedly, these results will inform future clinical trials.
目的 本研究的目的是：(a) 确定言语-语言病理学家（SLPs）对经颅直流电刺激（tDCS）的熟悉程度；(b) 量化 SLP 认为在失语症严重程度方面必需的与 tDCS 相关的改善（即 tDCS 增强；除传统行为疗法之外的理想改善），以将这种辅助疗法用于失语症的临床管理；(c) 确定可能阻碍 tDCS 临床应用的潜在问题。 方法 通过电子邮件和社交媒体向从事失语症患者工作的 SLPs 分发简短的（14 个问题）调查。 结果 共有 221 人回复，其中 155 份有效调查进行了分析。71%的参与者在参加调查前报告对 tDCS 有一定的了解。临床医生报告称，希望在西方失语症成套测验修订版失语症商数上额外提高 22.9%的评分。重要的是，94.2%的 SLP 报告称对 tDCS 在临床环境中的实施存在担忧（即安全性、成本、行政审批、报销和培训）。 结论 这是第一项确定 SLP 对 tDCS 临床应用的看法的研究。结果表明，在参加调查之前，大多数被询问的 SLP 对 tDCS 有所了解。尽管 SLP 报告称，为了考虑将 tDCS 纳入实践，他们希望在西方失语症成套测验修订版失语症商数上提高约 23%的额外分数，但许多 SLP 报告称对临床应用存在担忧。目前调查的结果提供了重要的初步证据，开始弥合与 tDCS 临床实施相关的研究与实践之间的差距。相关地，这些结果将为未来的临床试验提供信息。
