Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026
Determining the Functional Status of the Corticospinal Tract Within One Week of Stroke
Published on: February 22, 2020
Effect of functional status on survival in patients with stroke: is independent ambulation a key determinant?
Hsi-Ting Chiu1, Yen-Ho Wang, Jiann-Shing Jeng
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Objective:
To investigate the effect of functional status, measured using the Modified Rankin Scale (MRS), at 3 months after stroke on survival in patients with stroke.
Design:
Cohort study.
Setting:
Referral medical center.
Participants:
Patients with stroke (N=1032).
Interventions:
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measure:
Survival after stroke.
Results:
The Kaplan-Meier survival curves stratified by the 3-month MRS score showed 2 clear groups of patients with 3-month MRS scores of 0 to 3 (able to walk without assistance) and 4 or 5 (unable to walk without assistance). Accordingly, we grouped the patients into a high function (HF) group (3-month MRS≦3) and a low function (LF) group (3-month MRS≧4). Multiple Cox regression analysis showed that the LF group had significantly poorer survival (adjusted hazard ratio=4.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.89-7.60; P<.001) than the HF group. Other significant risk factors of higher mortality were older age, history of diabetes mellitus, and heart disease.
Conclusions:
This study showed a significant influence of the 3-month MRS score on stroke survival. Moreover, independent ambulation may be a major determinant of a favorable survival prognosis. This finding suggests a potential role of rehabilitation in promoting stroke survival by maximizing ambulation function.
