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Category: Project

Description: Children with severe acquired brain injury (ABI) require early and effective neurorehabilitation provision to promote a good long-term functional outcome. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been used to improve motor skills for children with cerebral palsy but there is limited material supporting its use in children with ABI who have a motor disorder. In this article, we wrote our scoping review protocol to systematically answer what are the TMS intervention effects on motor function in children with ABI as reported in the literature? This scoping review will follow Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review methodological framework. A comprehensive computerised bibliographic databases search will be performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Allied and Complementary Medicine, British Nursing Index, Ovid Emcare, PsychINFO, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, Cochrane Central Register using keywords related to TMS and children with ABI. Studies that examine the effect of TMS intervention on motor function as either a primary or secondary objective will be included for this review. Study design and publication detail, participant demographic details, type and severity of ABI and other clinical information, TMS procedure, associated therapy intervention, comparator/control parameters, and the outcome measure used data will be gathered. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth (ICF-CY) framework will be used to report the TMS effect in children with ABI. A narrative synthesis of the findings describing the therapeutic effects of TMS intervention, limitations, and adverse effects will be synthesized and reported. This review will help to summarise the existing knowledge base and to guide further research areas.