The Ottawa Panel guidelines on programmes involving therapeutic exercise for the management of hand osteoarthritis

The effects of a mobile app-delivered intervention in people with symptomatic hand osteoarthritis: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Exercise therapy, self-management and education are recommended interventions for hand osteoarthritis (OA), but new delivery systems are needed to solve lack of adherence.

AIM

To determine the effects on hand function and pain related measures of a mobile app-delivered intervention, compared with usual care, in patients with symptomatic hand OA.

DESIGN

A pragmatic, multicenter, two-group parallel randomized controlled trial.

SETTING

Community health centers in rural southern Spain.

POPULATION

Eighty-three participants with unilateral or bilateral symptomatic hand OA were proposed to participate, and finally 74 were included and randomized.

METHODS

Participants received a home multimodal treatment (exercise, education, and self-management recommendations) with the CareHand mobile app or usual care (written exercises) over 12 weeks. Monthly telephone calls were performed to monitor adherence. The primary outcome was hand physical function (Australian/Canadian Hand Osteoarthritis Index, AUSCAN) at 3- and 6-months. Secondary measures included hand pain intensity and morning stiffness, upper limb function, hand dexterity, and grip and pinch strength.

RESULTS

The CareHand group showed significant within-group changes in hand function at 6-months (-3.0, 95% CI -5.1 to -0.9 vs. usual care: -0.9, 95% CI -3.3 to 1.5). Neither group showed improvements in hand function at 3-months (CareHand: -1.5, 95% CI -3.1 to 0.1; usual care: -0.5, 95% CI -2.7 to 1.7). For the secondary outcomes, the CareHand group showed better results on upper limb function both at 3- and 6-months, and on pain both at 1- and 3-months compared to usual care group. Linear regression models indicated that baseline scores of pain intensity, hand status, and upper limb function were associated with a greater improvement in hand pain and physical function.

CONCLUSIONS

A mobile app-delivered intervention is effective for improving hand function, and better than usual care for upper limb function and pain. Further research is warranted to understand the impact of mobile health (mHealth) in people with hand OA.

CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT

mHealth interventions are a feasible and secure multimodal delivery approach in older adults with hand OA in rural primary care setting. Baseline pain and upper limb function might predict functional hand outcomes.

The Turkish League Against Rheumatism Recommendations for the Management of Hand Osteoarthritis Under Guidance of the Current Literature and 2018 European League Against Rheumatism Recommendations

Objectives

This study aims to explore the accordance to the 2018 European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) recommendations for the management of hand osteoarthritis (OA) among the Turkish League Against Rheumatism (TLAR) expert panel and composition of TLAR recommendations for the management of hand OA under guidance of the current literature.

Materials and methods

The TLAR convener designated an expert panel of 10 physicians experienced in hand OA for this process. The 2018 EULAR recommendations for the management of hand OA and the systematic review of the literature were sent to the expert panel via e-mails. The e-mail process which included Delphi round surveys was completed. The EULAR standard operational procedure Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II was followed. The level of agreement was calculated for each item and presented as mean, standard deviations, minimum and maximum and comparisons of 2018 EULAR recommendations were performed.

Results

Five overarching principles and 10 recommendations were discussed. Revisions were held for the sixth, seventh, and ninth recommendations with lowest level of agreements. These recommendations were revised in accordance with suggestions from the experts and re-voted. The revised forms were approved despite the lack of statistically significant difference between these forms (p=0.400, p=0.451, p=0.496, respectively). Except for the ninth recommendation about surgery (p=0.008), no significant difference in level of agreements was observed between the EULAR and TLAR hand OA recommendations. The 11th recommendation about paraffin bath was added.

Conclusion

The optimal treatment of hand OA consists of personalized non-pharmacological (self-management, exercise, splint), pharmacological (topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as the first choice), and interventional procedures (only for refractory cases) based on shared decision between the patient and physician. TLAR hand OA recommendations were created mainly based on the most recent literature and the last EULAR hand OA management recommendations, which are widely approved among the TLAR experts.

Does occupational therapy delay or reduce the proportion of patients that receives thumb carpometacarpal joint surgery? A multicentre randomised controlled trial

Objectives

To evaluate whether occupational therapy, provided in the period between referral and surgical consultation, might delay or reduce the need of surgery in thumb carpometacarpal joint (CMCJ) osteoarthritis and to explore predictors for CMCJ surgery.

Methods

This multicentre randomised controlled trial included patients referred for surgical consultation due to CMCJ osteoarthritis. An occupational therapy group received hand osteoarthritis education, assistive devices, CMCJ orthoses and exercises. A control group received only hand osteoarthritis information. Primary outcome was the proportion of patients that had received CMCJ surgery after 2 years. We examined the primary outcome and predictors for surgery with regression models, and time to surgery with the log-rank test and cox regression analyses.

Results

Of 221 patients screened for eligibility, 180 were randomised. Information on the primary outcome was collected from medical records for all included patients. Surgery was performed on 22 patients (24%) that had received occupational therapy and 29 (32%) control patients (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.26 to 1.21; p=0.14). Median time to surgery was 350 days (IQR 210-540) in the occupational therapy group and 296 days (IQR 188-428) in the control group (p=0.13). Previous non-pharmacological treatment (OR 2.72, 95% CI 1.14 to 6.50) and higher motivation for surgery (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.43) were significant predictors for CMCJ surgery.

Conclusions

Occupational therapy showed a small non-significant tendency to delay and reduce the need for surgery in CMCJ osteoarthritis. Previous non-pharmacological treatment and higher motivation for surgery were significant predictors for surgery.