Frontal lobe oxyhemoglobin levels in patients with lower extremity burns assessed using a functional near-Infrared spectroscopy device during usual walking: a pilot study

Background Understanding the mechanisms associated with locomotor networks may be of benefit for rehabilitation of burn victims with neurological locomotor deficits. A wearable functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) device has been developed for studying cortical hemodynamics. Objectives To investigate cortical brain activity during usual walking, we examined patterns of cortical activation using fNIRS device (NIRSIT (R); OBELAB Inc., Seoul, Korea), in patients with neurological injury caused by lower extremity burns. Methods This cross-sectional study assessed 15 patients with lower extremity burns, 10 patients with upper extremity burns, and 11 healthy controls. We measured walking-related cortical activity using an fNIRS device at baseline and during usual walking. Results There was no significant difference between the burns groups in terms of age (43.50 +/- 14.08 and 44.67 +/- 6.92 years,P = 1.00), pain score of NRS (Numeric rating scale) (5.83 +/- 1.19 and 6.67 +/- 1.21,P = 0.18) or the mean time since injury (228.50 +/- 83.43 and 199.33 +/- 68.84 days,P = 0.78). Measures showed increased cortical activation in the prefrontal cortex in patients with lower extremity burns than in patients with healthy controls(P = 0.015). The measured HbO(2)datas of the regions during usual walking in patients with lower extremity burn were insignificantly higher compared with the datas in patient with upper extremity burn (P = 0.302). Conclusions The patients with neurological injury due to lower extremity burns significantly rely more on cognitive resources even when performing a usual walking task.