Changes in the acute functional and cognitive disability states of severe hemorrhagic stroke patients

The purpose of this study was to characterize temporal patterns of functional and cognitive disability changes during the acute period in hemorrhagic stroke patients. The study subjects were 62 hemorrhagic stroke patients admitted to a surgical intensive care unit at a university hospital located in Incheon, South Korea. As outcome variables, functional disability, cognitive ability, and employment status were evaluated directly at 1, 3, and 6 months after admission. The results showed that significant improvements in functional and cognitive ability were observed between 1 and 6 months after admission. In terms of functional disability, subjects considered their overall functional ability (dependence on others) to be less recovered than the specific functional abilities (feeding, grooming, or toileting): 75% of the subjects stated that they were completely independent on others, whereas 92.9%, 83.9%, and 83.9% of subjects indicated that they were completely independent for feeding, grooming, and toileting at the 6-month assessments, respectively. In terms of cognitive ability, attention, communication, and memory recovery rates were found to be relatively good. However, the proportion of subjects that achieved complete problem solving and safety and social behavior recovery were lower than those that achieved attention, communication, and memory recovery. Our findings can provide the empirical evidences when neuroscience nurses use educational and supportive strategies for rehabilitation of hemorrhagic stroke patients.