QUESTION: In people in the chronic phase of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), how much more does a supervised, individualised exercise program improve functional independence with activities of daily living than a home-based exercise program? How do the two exercise programs compare regarding their effects on muscle strength, fatigue, pain and quality of life? DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial with concealed allocation, intention-to-treat analysis and blinding of outcome assessors. PARTICIPANTS: Sixteen adults with stable residual disability >= 6 months after the onset of GBS. INTERVENTION: Participants in the experimental group were allocated to 60-minute sessions of physiotherapist-supervised strengthening, endurance and breathing exercises, gait training and pain management, two to three sessions/week for 12 weeks. The control group was prescribed a home program of 30-minute sessions of maintenance exercises and education in self-management, two to three sessions/week for 12 weeks. OUTCOME MEASURES: Functional independence in activities of daily living on the 100-point Barthel Index (primary outcome), muscle strength on the 60-point Medical Research Council scale, fatigue on the 0-to-63 Fatigue Severity Scale, a visual analogue scale of pain severity, and quality of life, measured at baseline and months 6 and 12. RESULTS: At month 6, the median between-group difference was 5 (95% CI 0 to 20) for functional independence, 8 (95% CI 4 to 18) for strength, -13 (95% CI -28 to -1) for fatigue, and 12 (95% CI 3 to 13) for the environment domain of quality of life. Estimated effects at month 12 had a similar magnitude, but most of the CIs had greater uncertainty. CONCLUSION: Supervised, individualised exercise reduced fatigue and improved strength and quality of life more than unsupervised home exercise in people with chronic Guillain-Barre syndrome. REGISTRATION: CTRI/2016/08/007150.

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