Abstract
Rombaut L, Malfait F, De Wandele I, Cools A, Thijs Y, De Paepe A, Calders P. Medication,
surgery, and physiotherapy among patients with the hypermobility type of Ehlers-Danlos
syndrome.
Objectives
To describe medication use, surgery, and physiotherapy, and to examine the effect
of these treatment modalities on functional impairment and amount of complaints among
patients with the hypermobility type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS-HT).
Design
Cross-sectional study.
Setting
Physical and rehabilitation medicine department and center for medical genetics.
Participants
Patients with EDS-HT (N=79; 8 men, 71 women) were recruited for this study.
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
Patients filled out questionnaires regarding type of complaints, medication use, surgery,
physiotherapy, and outcome of treatment. Functional impairment in daily life was measured
by the Sickness Impact Profile. Pain severity was assessed with visual analog scales.
Results
Patients reported a large number of complaints, a considerable presence of severe
pain, and a clinically significant impact of disease on daily functioning. Most patients
(92.4%) used medications, among which analgesics were the most prevalent. Fifty-six
patients (70.9%) underwent surgery, including mainly interventions of the extremities
and abdomen. Forty-one patients (51.9%) are currently enrolled in a physical therapy
program, mainly comprising neuromuscular exercises, massage, and electrotherapy. Patients
with a high consumption of analgesics, who visited the physiotherapist, or who underwent
surgery had a higher dysfunction in daily life. Only 33.9% of the patients who underwent
surgery and 63.4% of patients in physical therapy reported a positive outcome.
Conclusions
Patients with EDS-HT have numerous complaints and an impaired functional status that
strongly determine their high rate of treatment consumption. The outcome of surgical
and physiotherapy treatment is disappointing in a large percentage, which illustrates
a strong need for evidence-based therapy.
Key Words
List of Abbreviations:
EDS (Ehlers-Danlos syndrome), EDS-HT (hypermobility type of EDS), NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), SIP (Sickness Impact Profile), TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), VAS (visual analog scale), WHO (World Health Organization)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 03, 2011
Footnotes
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
Published on-line June 2, 2011 at www.archives-pmr.org.
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
