Symptom Clusters in People With Stroke: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Stroke survivors frequently experience co-occurring symptoms impacting quality of life and rehabilitation.
• Existing research often isolates symptoms, hindering comprehensive, cluster-based care strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize evidence on assessment tools for stroke symptom clusters.
• To identify analytical techniques used for stroke symptom cluster identification.
• To describe the composition of common symptom clusters in stroke patients.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive scoping review of studies from 2001 to April 2025 across seven databases.
• Methodological quality assessed using JBI Critical Appraisal Checklists.
• Data extraction on study characteristics, measurement instruments, analytical techniques, and symptom cluster composition.

Main Results:

• Fourteen studies involving 6556 stroke patients were included.
• Seven common symptom clusters identified, with 'pain and fatigue' being most frequent.
• Significant heterogeneity observed in assessment tools, analytical methods, and cluster composition.

Conclusions:

• Methodological inconsistencies and diversity exist in stroke symptom cluster research.
• Need for standardized, culturally adaptable tools and longitudinal designs to understand dynamic symptom clusters.
• Findings offer insights for developing effective symptom management strategies to improve patient outcomes.