Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy.
Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS, 94018 Troina, Italy.
J Integr Neurosci. 2022 Jan 28;21(1):8. doi: 10.31083/j.jin2101008.
We report on our remote speech therapy experience in post-stroke aphasia. The aim was to test the feasibility and utility of telerehabilitation to support future randomized controlled trials. Post-stroke aphasia is a common and disabling speech disorder, which significantly affects patients' and caregivers' health and quality of life. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, most of the conventional speech therapy approaches had to stop or "switch" into telerehabilitation procedures to ensure the safety of patients and operators but, concomitantly, the best rehabilitation level possible. Here, we planned a 5-month telespeech therapy programme, twice per week, of a patient with non-fluent aphasia following an intracerebral haemorrhage. Overall, treatment adherence based on the operator's assessments was high, and incomplete adherence for technical problems occurred very rarely. In line with the patient's feedback, acceptability was also positive, since he was constantly motivated during the sessions and the exercises performed autonomously, as confirmed by the speech therapist and caregiver, respectively. Moreover, despite the sequelae from the cerebrovascular event, evident in some writing tests due to the motor deficits in his right arm and the disadvantages typical of all telepractices, more relevant results were achieved during the telerehabilitation period compared to those of the "face-to-face" therapy before the COVID-19 outbreak. The telespeech therapy performed can be considered successful and the patient was able to return to work. Concluding, we support it as a feasible approach offering patients and their families the opportunity to continue the speech and language rehabilitation pathway, even at the time of pandemic.
我们报告了我们在卒中后失语症中的远程言语治疗经验。目的是测试远程康复对支持未来随机对照试验的可行性和实用性。卒中后失语症是一种常见且使人致残的言语障碍，严重影响患者及其照顾者的健康和生活质量。由于 COVID-19 大流行，大多数常规言语治疗方法不得不停止或“切换”为远程康复程序，以确保患者和操作人员的安全，但同时也要尽可能达到最佳康复水平。在这里，我们计划为一名因颅内出血而患有非流利性失语症的患者进行为期 5 个月的远程言语治疗计划，每周两次。总体而言，根据操作人员的评估，治疗依从性很高，仅因技术问题导致不完全依从的情况非常罕见。根据患者的反馈，可接受性也很好，因为他在治疗过程中一直保持动力，并且可以自主完成练习，这分别得到了言语治疗师和照顾者的证实。此外，尽管患者存在与脑血管事件相关的后遗症，如右上肢运动缺陷导致的一些书写测试结果不理想，以及所有远程实践所共有的缺点，但与 COVID-19 爆发前的“面对面”治疗相比，远程康复期间取得了更相关的结果。进行的远程言语治疗可以被认为是成功的，患者能够重返工作岗位。总之，我们支持将其作为一种可行的方法，为患者及其家属提供继续进行言语和语言康复的机会，即使在大流行期间也是如此。
