da Silva Cameirao 2011.
| Methods | RCT | |
| Participants | Recruited from a subacute rehabilitation unit in Spain 19 participants: 13 intervention, 6 control Inclusion criteria: recruited within 3 weeks of first stroke, severe‐moderate upper limb impairment, no moderate‐severe aphasia, no other cognitive deficits as assessed by the MMSE and aged ≤ 80 years Exclusion criteria: none specified Mean (SD) age: intervention group 63.7 (11.83) years, control group 59.4 (10.62) years, control group (Wii) 58 (14) years 47% men Stroke details: 37% right hemiparesis Timing post stroke: intervention group mean (SD) 11.5 (5.1) d, control group 16.8 (5.0) d, control group (Wii) 13 (4.7) d |
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| Interventions | VR intervention: Rehabilitation Gaming System (RGS). The main elements of the system are the vision‐based analysis and tracking system that capture upper limb movements through colour detection, data gloves to capture finger flexion and a virtual environment where an avatar mimics the movements of the user Control intervention (OT): OT with emphasis on motor tasks similar to those in the RGS (i.e. object displacement, grasp and release) Control intervention (Wii): used the Wii gaming system. This intervention involved the gaming features but not the neuro‐scientific hypothesis regarding recovery Sessions were 20 min, 3 times/week for 12 weeks (approximately 12 h total). This was provided in addition to standard rehabilitation |
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| Outcomes | Outcomes recorded at baseline, weeks 5, 12 and 24 Upper limb outcomes: Fugl Meyer, Chedoke Arm and Hand Activity Inventory Activity outcomes: Barthel Index Other outcomes: participant satisfaction |
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| Notes | — | |
| Risk of bias | ||
| Bias | Authors' judgement | Support for judgement |
| Random sequence generation (selection bias) | Low risk | Computer‐generated program |
| Allocation concealment (selection bias) | Low risk | Managed externally |
| Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes | Low risk | Blinded to allocation |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes | High risk | Outliers excluded from the data analysis |
| Selective reporting (reporting bias) | Low risk | All outcomes reported |