Stroke: influence of patient's sex and side of weakness on outcome

This study investigated the importance of the side of weakness and sex of the patient in patient outcome after stroke. It was based upon 162 consecutive acute stroke patients attending a rehabilitation unit. Results suggest that functional recovery was not influenced by the factors investigated, provided that measurements were made at set times poststroke. However, patients with right hemiplegia attended rehabilitation longer so they appeared to have made a better functional recovery when activity of daily living (ADL) ability was measured at discharge. Although right hemiplegia was associated with aphasia and left hemiplegia with spatial disorder and loss of sitting balance, these associations were not strong enough to affect functional recovery. Sex of the patient had no significant effect upon either the frequency of initial deficits or upon outcome, and there was no obvious interaction between the two variables (side and sex) and outcome.