Content Reporting in Post-Stroke Therapeutic Circuit-Class Exercise Programs in randomized control trials.

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Clinical Trials Methodology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Group circuit-class training is a cost-effective therapeutic exercise for stroke survivors, improving mobility and gait.
• Accurate replication of effective interventions is crucial for advancing stroke research and treatment.
• Detailed reporting is essential for successful clinical replication, but is often lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the reporting quality of interventions in selected stroke rehabilitation studies.
• To evaluate three different reporting assessment scales: CERT, CONTENT, and TIDieR checklist.
• To determine the criterion validity between these three scales.

Main Methods:

• Sixteen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from a Cochrane Review were independently assessed by two reviewers.
• The Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template (CERT), CONTENT scale, and TIDieR checklist were used.
• Criterion validity was measured using weighted Cohen's kappa coefficients, with a third reviewer mediating disagreements.

Main Results:

• Mean scores for the CERT, TIDieR checklist, and CONTENT scale were 9.31/19, 8.81/12, and 4.82/9, respectively.
• Fair agreement was found between the CERT and CONTENT scale (k = 0.455).
• Slight agreement was observed between CERT and TIDieR (k = 0.143), and between CONTENT and TIDieR (k = 0.200).

Conclusions:

• There is a significant lack of detailed reporting for post-stroke therapeutic circuit-class exercise programs in the evaluated RCTs.
• This poor reporting quality acts as a major barrier to knowledge translation.
• It impedes the clinical implementation of effective exercise programs for stroke rehabilitation.