A maximised-ADL index of functional status for stroke patients. Methodological considerations

An index of functional status for stroke patients is presented. It is based on the observation that a patient's disposition is decided by the level of involvement of the most severely affected ADL-parameter. This allowed a suitably selected set of ADL-parameters to be scaled so that an index of functional status could be constructed which did not depend on the assumption of simple additivity of the component ADL-parameters. This index, together with two simplified versions, was contrasted with two summed-ADL indices and with an index of mobility, as predictors of outcome. The study was carried out on 57 patients.