Piron 2008.

Methods	RCT
Participants	Study took place in Italy Inclusion criteria: mild to intermediate arm motor impairment due to ischaemic stroke in the area of the middle cerebral artery; without cognitive problems that could interfere with comprehension Exclusion criteria: failure to meet above criteria Age, years: telerehabilitation group = 53 (SD 15) years, control group = 65 (SD 11) years Gender: telerehabilitation group 40% men, control group 60% men Time post‐stroke: telerehabilitation group 10 months (SD 3), control group 13 months (SD 2)
Interventions	Telerehabilitation intervention: the purpose of the intervention was to improve upper limb function using a virtual reality programme. Patient‐therapist interaction facilitated by a videoconferencing unit beside the telerehabilitation equipment. 1 computer was at the hospital and 1 at the participant's home Control intervention: virtual reality workstation with a 3D motion tracking system that recorded the participant's arm movements. The participant's movement was represented in the virtual environment. The therapist created a sequence of virtual tasks for the participant to complete with the affected arm. Participants could see their own trajectory and the ideal/desired trajectory.
Outcomes	Timing of outcome assessment: baseline and post‐intervention Measures: participant satisfaction questionnaire, Fugl‐Meyer Upper Extremity Scale
Notes
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Described as 'simple randomisation'
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Not reported
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Blinded outcome assessor
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	No missing outcome data
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Unclear risk	Not able to access protocol
Other bias	High risk	Small sample size