In 1994, a panel appointed by the Stroke Council of the American Heart Association authored guidelines for the management of patients with acute ischemic stroke.1 After the approval of the use of intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) for treatment of acute ischemic stroke by the Food and Drug Administration, the guidelines were supplemented by a series of recommendations 2 years later.2 Several promising interventions for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke have subsequently been tested in clinical trials, and other components of acute management have been evaluated since the previous guidelines were published. These new data have prompted the present revision of the prior guideline statement.

The goal of these guidelines is to provide updated recommendations that can be used by primary care physicians, emergency medicine physicians, neurologists, and other physicians who provide acute stroke care from admission to an emergency department through the first 24 to 48 hours of hospitalization by addressing the diagnosis and emergent treatment of the acute ischemic stroke in addition to the management of its acute and subacute neurological and medical complications.

Several groups have now written statements about management of stroke.3–7 These statements also include recommendations about public educational programs, the organization of stroke resources, and other aspects of patient management. For example, the Brain Attack Coalition published recommendations for organizing stroke services in a community, and the recommendations of the American Heart Association Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee provide an outline for emergency medical services.6 The current panel elected not to duplicate these recent efforts.

Therapies to prevent recurrent stroke, also a component of acute management, are similar to prophylactic medical or surgical therapies used for patients with transient ischemic attacks and other high-risk patients. The reader is referred to relevant recent statements for additional information.8,9 

In developing …

https://www.pennstatehershey.org/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=115233&name=DLFE-2413.pdf

Guidelines for the Early Management of Patients With Ischemic Stroke A Scientific Statement From the Stroke Council of the American Stroke Association

https://www.archives-pmr.org/article/S0003-9993(95)80568-0/pdf

Outcome and time course of recovery in stroke. Part II: Time course of recovery. The copenhagen stroke study

Background and Purpose The purposes of this study were to examine overall and domain-specific quality of life in long-term stroke survivors and to identify variables that predict quality of life after stroke. Methods The study used a cross-sectional, descriptive correlational design. Subjects were 86 stroke survivors who were interviewed 1 to 3 years after stroke. Quality of life was measured with the use of an instrument that assesses satisfaction and importance for four domains (health and functioning, socioeconomic, family, and psychological-spiritual). Independent variables were age, social class, aphasia, functional status, motor impairment, depression, comorbidity, and perceived social support. Multiple regression analysis was used to predict quality of life. Results Thirty percent of subjects scored in the depressed range. The mean overall quality of life score was relatively high and was comparable to that of a normative population. Quality of life was highest for the family domain and lowest for ...

Quality of Life After Stroke

A review of 33 studies identifies the factors of prior stroke, older age, urinary and bowel incontinence, and visuo-spatial deficits as adverse prognostic indicators of function. No relationship is shown between sex, hemisphere of stroke, and functional outcome. Functional admission score is a strong predictor of discharge functional status, but its relationship with improvement in function is unclear. Findings regarding the prognostic value of severity of paralysis and onset-admission delay are ambiguous. Comparison among studies is hindered by differences in patient samples, timing of assessments, criteria by which outcome is measured and measuring instrument used. Future studies should measure function at set times post-stroke, use functional scales whose reliability and validity is well established, and be conducted in several treatment centres to ensure that the sample is representative of the population to which the predictor measure is to be applied.

Prediction of function after stroke: a critical review.

Purpose: Stroke is the most disabling chronic condition, newly affecting 35000 persons in Canada each year. Because of declining fatality, a growing number of persons will have to cope with stroke-...

Disablement following stroke.

This study concerns the quality of life of patients after stroke and how this is influenced by disablement and emotional factors. Ninety-six consecutive patients of mean age 71 years were followed for two years. At the end of that time 23% had experienced a recurrence of stroke and 27% were deceased. Of the survivors 76% were independent as regards activities of daily life (ADL) and lived in their own homes. Age as well as initial function were prognostically important factors. Patients who could participate in interviews marked on a visual analogue scale their evaluation of quality of life before and after stroke. Most of them had experienced a decrease and no improvement was observed during the two years. The deterioration was more pronounced in ADL dependent patients than among the independent. However, depression and anxiety were found to be of similar importance for quality of life as was physical disablement. These findings call for a greater emphasis on psychological support in the care of post stroke patients. The visual analogue scale can be a useful tool for detecting special needs.

T Theorell

Papers

Disablement and quality of life after stroke.