Effects of non-pharmacological therapies on hand function and the ability to perform daily activities in people with systemic sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized control trials.

Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune rheumatic disease. Individuals with a diagnosis of SSc describe repercussions on their activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living that affect their everyday functional capacity. The objective of this systematic review was to explore the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions to improve hand function and the ability to perform activities of daily living.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted on the Cochrane Library, Medline/PubMed, OTseeker, PEDro, Scopus, Web of Science up to September 10, 2022. Inclusion criteria were defined following PICOS recommendations (Populations, Intervention, Comparison and Outcome measures). Methodological quality was assessed with the Downs and Black Scale and risk of bias was assessed using version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2). A meta-analysis of each outcome was performed.

Results: A total of 8 studies met the inclusion criteria, providing data on 487 individuals with SSc. The non-pharmacological intervention applied the most was exercise. The effects of non-pharmacological interventions were better than those of the waiting list or no treatment control conditions in both outcomes - hand function (mean difference [MD] = -6.98; 95% CI [-11.45, - 2.50], P = 0.002, I  = 0%) and performance of daily activities (MD = -0.19; 95% CI [-0.33, - 0.04], P = 0.01, I  = 0%). Moderate risk of bias was found in the majority of the studies included.

Conclusion: There is emerging evidence that non-pharmacological interventions can improve hand function and performance of daily activities in individuals with a diagnosis of SSc. Given the moderate risk of bias found in the studies included, the results should be considered with caution.