Małgorzata Fudala
Waldemar Brola
Jan Czernicki
Functional status of patients after stroke depending on neurological and medical complications in three years follow-up
Małgorzata Fudala
Waldemar Brola
Jan Czernicki
Oddział Neurologii z Oddziałem Udarowym Szpitala Specjalistycznego w Końskich, Polska
Oddział Neurologii z Oddziałem Udarowym Szpitala Specjalistycznego w Końskich, Polska
Katedra Rehabilitacji Akademii Świętokrzyskiej, Filia w Piotrkowie Trybunalskim, Piotrków Trybunalski, Polska
Abstract
Introduction and purpose: There are several commonly known complications occurring in the acute phase of stroke which have influence on patients’ mortality and functional status. There is, however, less information concerning the state of the patients in long-term follow-up. The aim of the study was to assess the functional status of stroke patients depending on neurological and general medical complications in three years follow-up.
Material and methods: The study has been carried out amongst 101 patients treated at the Department of Neurology with Stroke Unit of the Specialist Hospital in Końskie, who were diagnosed with the first stroke in their lives and registered with a questionnaire of the POLKARD programme. Examination after three years consisted of assessing the patients’ functional status using the Rankin’s Scale and the Barthel’s Scale, examination by both the Mini Mental State Examination and the Geriatric Depression Scale. Their functional status was analysed before the stroke and on discharging them from the hospital, as well as three years after stroke depending on complications.
Results: The patients who are self-dependent in daily activities (Rankin 0-1) constituted 47% of the researched, 42% require some assistance (Rankin 2-3), and 11% require substantial assistance or complex treatment (Rankin 4-5). The most frequent recognised after-stroke complications are depressive disorders (45.5%), falls (42.6%), dementia (33.7%), cardiological complications (19.8%), pain and oedema in the paretic limbs (15.8%). During three years from the stroke at least one complication occurred in case of 84% of the patients. Any statistically essential dependence between complications and gender, age as well as functional status was found.
Conclusions: The post-stroke complications occur statistically independently from the patients’ functional status but their incidence increases with progression of patients’ disability. Systematic, long-term follow-up of the post-stroke patients may prevent many complications and improve the patients’ quality of life
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