Studies up to 1980 on stroke rehabilitation outcomes

Although rehabilitation potentials are meant to be used in prognosis, they differ from the usual prognostic signs in the morbidity sense because they relate to behavioral outcomes rather than cure of neurologic deficits. Survival studies have shown that stroke patients who live through the acute phase after onset survive long enough to warrant rehabilitation. The most important overall conclusion from scientific studies of predictors of stroke rehabilitation outcome is that the identified predictors were not accurate enough to predict gains in the rehabilitation process or the disposition of the individuals at discharge. Instead, these predictors can only be used in a statistical sample to describe the general criteria of those patients who would do better versus those who would do worse in rehabilitation. Some of these general indicators include those that seem to have no effect on rehabilitation outcomes--age, sex, amount of paralysis, side of brain involved, and place of residence at the time of the stroke. Those factors for which the effects are still unknown are race and prolonged specialized training period in either proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation or percent-concept organization and motor output training. Factors that positively affect rehabilitation outcomes are good family support and financial status, higher socioeconomic and educational levels, early referral to rehabilitation, and the type of rehabilitation center (comprehensive rehabilitation center versus nursing home).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)