RETRACTED: Electrical Stimulation for Hemiplegic Shoulder Function: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 15 Randomized Controlled Trials (Retracted Article)

Objective: To review the evidence for the effect of functional electrical stimulation (FES) on shoulder subluxation, pain, upper arm motor function, daily function, and quality of life in patients with stroke when added to conventional therapy. Data Sources: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and EMBASE databases were searched for all relevant studies published before February 20, 2016. Study Selection: Keywords included subluxation or pain, stroke or hemiplegia, and electrical stimulation or FES or NMES. Trials examining the effect of FES on shoulder and upper arm outcomes were included. Data Extraction: From the 1307 retrieved articles, 15 randomized controlled trials were selected for the final analysis and were rated on the basis of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, Version 5.1.0 and Sackett's levels of evidence. A meta-analysis was performed for all considered outcomes. Data Synthesis: The results of this meta-analysis showed a significant difference in shoulder subluxation between the FES group and the placebo group, only if FES was applied early after stroke. And a significant difference was observed posttreatment in the Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment between the FES group and the placebo group. No effects were found on pain, upper arm motor function, daily function, and quality of life outcomes. Conclusions: FES can be used to prevent or reduce shoulder subluxation early after stroke. However, findings did not support the efficacy of use of FES for pain reduction, improvement in arm strength, movement, functional use, daily function, or quality of life after stroke. (C) 2016 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine