Hand telerehabilitation for polytrauma patients following road traffic accidents

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to examine the characteristics of upper limb and shoulder injuries combined with chest trauma in road accident victims and evaluate the effectiveness of telemedical monitoring and a newly developed telerehabilitation model in patient recovery. Materials and Methods: Our study incorporated 136 medical records of inpatients who had sustained upper extremity and chest injuries, constituting a retrospective group. Additionally, in the main group, we included 73 patients with similar injuries of the upper extremity and chest. Results: We analyze the functional results between the retrospective group and the main group, providing valuable insights into the effectiveness of traditional rehabilitation versus telerehabilitation. Focusing first on the average time spent on rehabilitation exercises per day, we observe a noticeable difference: while the retrospective group dedicated an average of 29}8 minutes daily, the main group invested more time, averaging 42}4 minutes. The retrospective group reported an average of 12}2 visits, in stark contrast to the main group, which averaged only 4}2 visits. The rehabilitators spent considerably less time with each patient in the main group (92}14 minutes) compared to the retrospective group (263}15 minutes), with a significant difference (p<0.005). The discovery in our study that there was no notable statistical difference in the functional outcomes, as evaluated by QuickDASH scores, between patients undergoing telerehabilitation and those receiving traditional rehabilitation is of significant importance. Conclusions: The findings reveal that telerehabilitation can significantly increase patient engagement in rehabilitation exercises, primarily due to its convenience and accessibility.