Assessment of Body Fluid Alteration Using Bioelectrical Impedance in Stroke Patients with Hemiplegia Caused by Cerebral Hemorrhage and Cerebral Infarction

Abstract

Many stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation therapy require a quantitative indicator for the evaluation of body composition in paretic and non-paretic regions. In this study, the body fluid alteration in the paretic and non-paretic regions of stroke patients with hemiplegia caused by cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction was analyzed using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Alterations in body fluids were investigated to assess the physical status of the paretic and non-paretic regions of 20 stroke patients with hemiplegia caused by cerebral hemorrhage (7 patients) and cerebral infarction (13 patients). Extracellular water (ECW), intracellular water (ICW), ICW/ECW, total body water (TBW), ECW/TBW, and TBW/fat-free mass were utilized to evaluate the functional status of the paretic and non-paretic regions. Compared with the non-paretic region, the paretic region had high ECW and low ICW. Due to the loss of motor function and nutritional imbalance caused by the stroke, the amount of fat increased while the muscle quantity and quality significantly decreased in the paretic region. Thus, BIA can be a useful tool for quantitatively assessing paretic and non-paretic regions in stroke patients with hemiplegia.