A descriptive study of function in acute motor stroke

The functional independence measure (FIM) instrument was introduced in 1987 and has proven to be a useful tool for measuring disability in different patient populations. The FIM instrument data collected during inpatient rehabilitation for stroke is very informative, as it is voluminous, comprehensive, and has a uniform reporting mechanism. In contrast to inpatient rehabilitation, there is a paucity of FIM instrument data on acute stroke patients. The purpose of this study was to describe functional level of 100 patients within the first 24 hours of acute care admission. The mean total FIM instrument score was 94.05 (SD +/- 19.31, range = 38-120), the mean motor domain subscore was 61 (SD +/- 17.8, range 23-85), and cognitive was 33.4 (SD +/- 3.3, range 15-35). Significant group differences were identified for age, gender, and disposition for total and/or domain subscores. Significant differences in age, gender, employment, and disposition were found for clinical subscales. This study fills a gap in current knowledge, that of baseline total FIM instrument scores, domain subscores, and six clinical subscales on one particular group of stroke patients, those with a primary motor stroke.