Page 224 - EJMO-9-2

Eurasian Journal of
Medicine and Oncology RCT of rTMS combined with HT for PSD

patients who completed pre-intervention assessments presented in Table 2. Below is a breakdown of results for
and randomization were enrolled and assigned to one of each scale and treatment group.
four treatment groups. In Group A (control group), 19 At baseline, Group D (combined HT and rTMS group)
participants (95.0%) completed the post-intervention had slightly higher mean HAMD scores compared to
assessment; one participant dropped out due to Group A (control group), with values of 24.50 (standard
transportation issues. In Group B (classical therapy group: deviation [SD] = 1.54) and 23.94 (SD = 1.89), respectively.
rTMS group), all 20 participants (100.0%) completed the After treatment, mean HAMD scores decreased
post-intervention assessment. In Group C (HT group), significantly across all groups (p<0.01). The post-treatment
19 participants (95.0%) completed the assessment, while mean scores were 16.44 (SD = 1.46) for Group B (rTMS
one participant withdrew due to transportation issues. group), 17.11 (SD = 3.12) for Group C (HT group), and
In Group D (combined therapy group), 19 participants 19.78 (SD = 2.49) for Group A.
(95.0%) completed the assessment, while one participant
withdrew to sensitivity to the smell of soil during garden There were no significant differences in baseline
activities. Participants who dropped out were excluded HAMA scores among the four treatment groups. Baseline
from the final analysis (Figure 1 for the trial process). means were: Group A, 26.65 (SD = 1.15); Group B, 26.00
(SD = 1.70); Group C, 25.89 (SD = 0.90); and Group D,
Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics 25.67 (SD = 1.14). Following the intervention, all groups
– including age, gender, height, weight, education showed a significant decrease in mean HAMA scores
level, underlying diseases, and disease duration – were compared to baseline (p<0.01), as shown in Table 2.
comparable across the four treatment groups, with no Meanwhile, Group D (combined HT and rTMS group)
statistical significant differences (Table 1).
exhibited slightly higher baseline SS-QOL scores (43.26,
Changes in primary outcome measures among SD = 11.62) compared to Group A (41.97, SD = 12.54).
participants who completed the 28-day intervention are After 28 days of treatment, the SS-QOL scores were 44.84

Figure 1. Trial profile
Abbreviations: HAMA: Hamilton Anxiety Scale; HAMD: Hamilton Depression Scale; HT: Horticultural therapy; SS-QOL: Stroke-Specific Quality of Life
Scale; rTMS: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Volume 9 Issue 2 (2025) 216 doi: 10.36922/EJMO025080032