RESUMO
BACKGROUND: A randomized, pilot, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of a cream based on Bach flower remedies (BFR) on symptoms and signs of carpal tunnel syndrome. METHODS: Forty-three patients with mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome during their "waiting" time for surgical option were randomized into 3 parallel groups: Placebo (n = 14), blinded BFR (n = 16), and nonblinded BFR (n = 13). These groups were treated during 21 days with topical placebo or a cream based on BFR. RESULTS: Significant improvements were observed on self-reported symptom severity and pain intensity favorable to BFR groups with large effect sizes (η2partial > 0.40). In addition, all signs observed during the clinical exam showed significant improvements among the groups as well as symptoms of pain, night pain, and tingling, also with large effect sizes (φ > 0.5). Finally, there were significant differences between the blinded and nonblinded BFR groups for signs and pain registered in clinical exam but not in self-reports. CONCLUSION: The proposed BFR cream could be an effective intervention in the management of mild and moderate carpal tunnel syndrome, reducing the severity symptoms and providing pain relief.
Assuntos
Síndrome do Túnel Carpal/tratamento farmacológico , Essências Florais/uso terapêutico , Fitoterapia , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Síndrome do Túnel Carpal/fisiopatologia , Feminino , Essências Florais/administração & dosagem , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Manejo da Dor , Projetos Piloto , Creme para a Pele , Adulto JovemRESUMO
La calidad de vida relativa a salud se está constituyendo en un instrumento fiable para evaluar la calidad de vida relativa a la función visual en pacientes con afecciones oculares. En este estudio esta se evalúa mediante el cuestionario de calidad de vida relativa a la visión (VQOL-15) en pacientes con diagnóstico de catarata senil, previo a la cirugía y 4 meses después de ella. Se realizó un estudio de intervención prospectivo comparativo al total de pacientes operados de cirugía de cataratas en el período comprendido entre 1 de julio de 2005 y 1 de julio de 2006. Se encontró que la edad media de los pacientes estudiados fue de 73 años, el color de la piel predominante fue la blanca y el sexo, el masculino. Se demostró que la calidad de vida previa a la cirugía marcó una media de 44, 1 y después de esta 80,6 con un valor p = 0,0000. Se concluye que el VQOL-15 es un instrumento de gran utilidad y que se ajusta a nuestro medio, para medir calidad de vida relativa a visión en pacientes con cataratas.
In recent times, the health-related quality of life is a reliable tool to evaluate vision-related quality of life in patients with ocular affections. In the present study, the vision-related quality of life questionnaire (VQOL-15) was used to evaluate this important aspect in patients with senile cataract before surgery and 4 months after. A comparative prospective intervention study was performed on patients operated from cataract, before and after surgery, in the period of July 1st, 2005 to July 1st, 2006. It was found that the average age was 73 years and they were mostly Caucasians and males. It was demonstrated that the quality of life before surgery was 44,1 and afterwards, it was 80,6, with p=0.0000. The conclusion was that VQOL-15 is a very useful tool that may be adjusted to our context in order to measure vision-related quality of life in patients with cataract.