Table 4.
Subgroup analyses of hand dexterity as assessed by the Box and Block Test.
| Moderating factors | Number of trials analyzed and number of participants involved | Standardized mean difference (95% CI) | Between-group difference, P value | Subgroup difference, P value | |
| Age (years) | |||||
|
|
Younger (<60.36) | 6 [32,35,41,51,53,64]; NVRa group=94, Ncontrol group=93 | 0.12 (−0.38 to 0.62) | .64 | .47 |
|
|
Older (≥60.36) | 7 [8,10,31,37,48,60,62]; NVR group=203, Ncontrol group=193 | 0.38 (−0.11 to 0.87) | .13 | .47 |
| Stroke recovery stage | |||||
|
|
Subacute stroke | 6 [8,10,31,37,41,62]; NVR group=184, Ncontrol group=174 | 0.11 (−0.27 to 0.48) | .58 | .44 |
|
|
Chronic stroke | 7 [32,35,48,51,53,60,64]; NVR group=113, Ncontrol group=112 | 0.38 (−0.20 to 0.95) | .20 | .44 |
| Type of VR program | |||||
|
|
Specialized program designed for rehabilitation | 6 [8,35,41,48,53,64]; NVR group=123, Ncontrol group=119 | −0.03 (−0.28 to 0.22) | .81 | .09 |
|
|
Commercial game | 7 [10,31,32,37,51,60,62]; NVR group=174, Ncontrol group=167 | 0.54 (−0.06 to 1.14) | .08 | .09 |
| Therapy delivery format | |||||
|
|
VR-supported exercise therapy alone compared with conventional therapy | 5 [8,37,48,51,64]; NVR group=115, Ncontrol group=109 | −0.08 (−0.34 to 0.18) | .56 | .046 |
|
|
VR-supported exercise therapy+conventional therapy compared with conventional therapy | 8 [10,31,32,35,41,53,60,62]; NVR group=182, Ncontrol group=177 | 0.52 (−0.01 to 1.05) | .052 | .046 |
| Similarity of intervention duration between groups | |||||
|
|
Same intervention duration in both VR and control groups | 9 [8,10,32,37,41,48,51,62,64]; NVR group=233, Ncontrol group=224 | 0.07 (−0.25 to 0.40) | .66 | .002 |
|
|
Longer intervention duration in VR groups | 2 [31,60]; NVR group=37, Ncontrol group=33 | 1.34 (0.61 to 2.07) | <.001 | .002 |
| Intervention duration in VR groups (hours) | |||||
|
|
≤15 | 6 [8,37,41,48,51,64]; NVR group=127, Ncontrol group=120 | −0.10 (−0.35 to 0.15) | .45 | <.001 |
|
|
>15 | 5 [31,32,35,60,62]; NVR group=90, Ncontrol group=87 | 0.92 (0.35 to 1.49) | .002 | <.001 |
| Trial length | |||||
|
|
2 weeks to 1 month | 10 [8,10,31,35,37,41,51,53,62,64]; NVR group=241, Ncontrol group=231 | 0.02 (−0.22 to 0.26) | .84 | .049 |
|
|
>1 and ≤2 months | 3 [32,48,60]; NVR group=56, Ncontrol group=55 | 0.97 (0.06 to 1.89) | .04 | .049 |
aVR: virtual reality.