Neurorehabilitation and its impact on functional status in patients who have suffered a stroke

Abstract

Stroke represents the main cause of functional dependence and in the Portuguese adult population. Objective: to analyse the impact of rehabilitation on functional state and basic activities of daily life (ABVD), 8 weeks following a stroke, in a population of elderly people in north-western Portugal. Methodology: Observational, longitudinal and retrospective study. The patients were grouped into 3 groups according to the rehabilitation treatment received: Non-rehabilitation (NR), light rehabilitation (RL) and intense rehabilitation (RI).Sociodemographic data, clinical variables (on stroke), hospital stay, rehabilitative treatment, and functional status (Barthel Index) were collected. Results: 350 patients, with a mean age of 75.83 (±8.02) years. The hospital stay was longer in the group of RL (19.7 (±8.69)), RI (17.67 (±10.05)) and of those who did not undergo rehabilitation (10.97 (±6.96)), (p = .001).A significant increase (p < .001) was observed in the Barthel index scores from admission to 8 weeks after the stroke.Age (p = .003) and hospital stay (p = .013) were shown as risk factors for functional dependence. Similarly, taking as a reference the patients who did not undergo rehabilitation, the subjects who underwent light rehabilitation (OR (95% CI): 6.37 (1.74−23.25), p = .005) and intensive rehabilitation (OR (95% CI): 2.28 (1.08−4.82, p = .030), had a significantly higher risk of presenting functional dependence