Cochrane · systematic review · CD009760
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for improving aphasia in adults with aphasia after stroke
Elsner, B, Kugler, J, Pohl, M, et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2019 · Cochrane Library
SoF tableOnly the outcomes this review put in its Summary of Findings table are listed (the Cochrane Handbook caps them at about seven per comparison). Its other analyses are not shown here.
Questions
6
current version
GRADE rated
6
No studies
0
Included studies
NR
No studies 0 · 0%Ungraded 0 · 0%Very low 2 · 33.3%Low 3 · 50%Moderate 1 · 16.7%High 0 · 0%
Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.
Questions and results
Current version onlytDCS plus speech and language therapy (SLT) versus sham tDCS plus SLT for improving aphasia for improving aphasia in patients with aphasia after stroke
Population: patients with improving aphasia in patients with aphasia after stroke
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Functional communication post intervention Formal outcome measures of aphasia. Scale from: −infinity to +infinity tDCS plus speech and language therapy (SLT) vs sham tDCS plus SLT | no estimate extracted | 3 studies · 112 participants | Low Downgraded: imprecision, indirectness |
Functional communication at tDCS plus speech and language therapy (SLT) vs sham tDCS plus SLT | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 80 participants | Very low Downgraded: imprecision, indirectness |
Language impairment: accuracy of naming nouns post intervention Accuracy in naming nouns. Scale from: −infinity to +infinity tDCS plus speech and language therapy (SLT) vs sham tDCS plus SLT | no estimate extracted | 11 studies · 298 participants | Moderate Downgraded: imprecision |
Language impairment: accuracy of naming nouns at tDCS plus speech and language therapy (SLT) vs sham tDCS plus SLT | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 80 participants | Low Downgraded: imprecision |
Language impairment: accuracy of naming verbs post intervention Accuracy in verb naming. Scale from: −infinity to +infinity tDCS plus speech and language therapy (SLT) vs sham tDCS plus SLT | no estimate extracted | 3 studies · 21 participants | Very low Downgraded: imprecision, indirectness |
tDCS plus speech and language therapy (SLT) versus sham tDCS plus SLT for improving aphasia: dropouts post intervention Numbers of dropouts and adverse events tDCS plus speech and language therapy (SLT) vs sham tDCS plus SLT | no estimate extracted | 15 studies · 345 participants | Low Downgraded: imprecision, indirectness |
tDCS plus speech and language therapy (SLT) versus sham tDCS plus SLT for improving aphasia for improving aphasia and cognition in patients with aphasia after stroke
Population: patients with improving aphasia and cognition in patients with aphasia after stroke
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Language impairment: accuracy of naming until end of intervention phase ‐ Accuracy of naming until end of intervention phase (change scores) Number of correct responses in a picture naming task tDCS plus speech and language therapy (SLT) vs sham tDCS plus SLT | no estimate extracted | 6 studies · 66 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
tDCS plus speech and language therapy (SLT) versus sham tDCS plus SLT for improving aphasia: dropouts Dropouts and adverse events tDCS plus speech and language therapy (SLT) vs sham tDCS plus SLT | no estimate extracted | 8 studies · 115 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Comparison
Population: people (18+ years) with aphasia after stroke
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Language impairment: accuracy of naming until end of intervention phase (relative change in standard units) Rule of thumb for interpretation: 0.2 represents a small effect, 0.5 a moderate effect, and 0.8 a large effect (Patrick 2011) | no estimate extracted | 5 studies · 54 participants | Moderate |