Death or Improvement: The Fate of Highly Disabled Patients after Stroke Rehabilitation

Author: Giaquinto Salvatore  

Publisher: Informa Healthcare

ISSN: 1064-1963

Source: Clinical and Experimental Hypertension, Vol.28, Iss.3-4, 2006-07, pp. : 357-364

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Abstract

The study evaluates the long-term outcome in patients severely disabled after suffering their first stroke and who after rehabilitation were discharged. A total of 176 consecutive patients were studied who at their discharge were highly dependent and presented a functional independence measure (FIM) score in the range of 18–39. They were discharged within 60 days, according to local laws. At a follow-up after 1 year, 89 patients survived (50.56%) and 72 (40.90%) died. One woman did not show up at the follow-up; 14 patients were not found (7.95%). By applying the Friedman's test a significant improvement was observed in stroke survivors. A significant negative correlation was found between age and FIM only at follow-up. In conclusion, highly disabled stroke patients are likely to undergo unfavorable outcome, but unexpected improvement cannot be ruled out.