Physical Recovery Following Stroke

Decompressive Craniectomy for Malignant Ischemic Stroke: An Institutional Experience of 145 Cases in a Brazilian Medical Center

BACKGROUND

Malignant ischemic stroke (MIS) occurs in a subgroup of patients with cerebrovascular accident who sustain massive or significant cerebral infarction. It is characterized by neurological deterioration owing to progressive edema, raised intracranial pressure, and cerebral herniation. Decompressive craniectomy (DC) is a surgical technique that can be used to treat select cases of this condition in the presence of medically refractory intracranial hypertension. This study aimed to identify prognostic factors associated with clinical outcome, including timing of the procedure, and postoperative mortality.

METHODS

We analyzed surgical characteristics associated with prognosis in 145 patients who underwent DC secondary to MIS between 2013 and 2018, assessing clinical outcome at discharge and 6 and 12 months after discharge. Our inclusion criteria were DC secondary to MIS in adult patients with raised intracranial pressure signs.

RESULTS

Our analysis showed that although patients from cities >100 km from the neurosurgical center had a worse prognosis, only the surgical head side (left vs. right, P = 0.001), hospitalization length (P < 0.001), and earlier timing of procedure (P < 0.001) were statistically relevant in having worse outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients in whom more time passed from presentation to the neurosurgical procedure, owing to living in a distant city or taking more time to be seen by a specialist, tended to have a worse prognosis. The timing of procedure, surgical side, and hospitalization length were independent predictors in determining the prognosis of patients who underwent DC after an MIS.

Difference in cortical activation during use of volar and dorsal hand splints: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study

There have been no studies reported on the difference in cortical activation during use of volar and dorsal hand splints. We attempted to investigate the difference in cortical activation in the somatosensory cortical area during use of volar and dorsal hand splints by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We recruited eight healthy volunteers. fMRI was performed while subjects who were fitted with volar or dorsal hand splints performed grasp-release movements. Regions of interest were placed on the primary motor cortex (M1), primary somatosensory cortex (S1), posterior parietal cortex (PPC), and secondary somatosensory cortex (S2). Results of group analysis of fMRI data showed that the total numbers of activated voxels in all ROIs were significantly higher during use of volar hand splint (3,376) compared with that (1,416) during use of dorsal hand splint. In each ROI, use of volar hand splint induced greater activation in all ROIs (M1: 1,748, S1: 1,455, PPC: 23, and S2: 150) compared with use of dorsal hand splint (M1: 783, S1: 625, PPC: 0, and S2: 8). The peak activated value was also higher during use of volar hand splint (t-value: 17.29) compared with that during use of dorsal hand splint (t-value: 13.11). Taken together, use of volar hand splint induced greater cortical activation relevant to somatosensory function than use of dorsal hand splint. This result would be important for the physiatrist and therapist to apply appropriate somatosensory input in patients with brain injury.

Efficacy of treatment with a kinaesthetic ability training device on balance and mobility after stroke: a randomized controlled study

Objective: To investigate whether the addition of a kinaesthetic ability training device could enhance the effect of a conventional rehabilitation programme on balance and mobility in hemiparetic patients late after stroke.

Design: Randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded trial.

Setting: The rehabilitation ward of a university hospital. Thirty hemiparetic patients (mean age (SD) of 57.4 (8.1) years) late after stroke (mean time since stroke (SD) 545.2 (99.9) days) were assigned randomly to an experimental or a control group.

Interventions: The control group (n = 15) participated in a conventional rehabilitation programme. The experimental group (n = 15) participated in balance training with a kinaesthetic ability training device in addition to a conventional rehabilitation programme for four weeks, five days a week.

Outcome measures: Kinaesthetic ability training static and dynamic balance indices, balance and lower extremity subscores of the Fugl-Meyer Stroke Assessment Instrument (FMA), total motor and locomotor subitem scores of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) were evaluated at baseline and after treatment.

Results: The experimental group had greater improvement in measures of balance including static (P = 0.045) and dynamic balance index (P = 0.001) and FMA balance score (P = 0.001) than the control group. No between-group differences were detected in subscore of FMA, total motor and locomotor subscores of FIM. There were significant improvements in balance subscores of FMA, static and dynamic balance indexes in the experimental group and in sub-item scores of FIM and lower extremity scores of FMA in both groups.

Conclusion: Kinaesthetic ability training in addition to a conventional rehabilitation programme is effective in improving balance late after stroke. However, this improvement is not reflected in individual functional status.

Establishing an effective quantity of physiotherapy after stroke: A discussion

Physiotherapy is a well-established part of stroke rehabilitation and the UK National Clinical Guidelines for Stroke recommend that patients should have as much therapy as is appropriate to their needs. However there is no conclusive evidence of a definitive amount of treatment that is effective.

This discussion paper seeks to explore four trends that appear to be emerging from current research on intensity of physiotherapy treatment, namely quantity of treatment, type of interventions used, influence of levels of impairment and lastly, responsiveness of different body parts for recovery.

The authors suggest that further research is needed to investigate some key issues. First of all, research should investigate whether the amount of traditional physiotherapy alone should be increased or if additional treatment should be focused on functional tasks and repetition, as advocated within neuroplasticity literature. Further investigation could also explore whether more intensive treatment is beneficial to all patients or only those with specific types of impairment and activity limitation. To reflect this concept, the possibility of establishing more careful matching of patients to treatments should be explored. Finally, it should be determined whether particular contributions to recovery, e.g. lower limb function, are more responsive to intensive treatment than others, e.g hand function.

The effect of independent practice of motor tasks by stroke patients: a pilot randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of independent practice of sitting balance as an addition to standard physiotherapy treatment for patients with stroke.

DESIGN

Randomized controlled trial, using blocked randomization procedure with 2:1 ratio.

SUBJECTS

Inpatients with diagnosis of stroke, having achieved one minute of independent sitting balance but not yet achieved 10 independent steps, and with no known previous disabilities, pathology or neurological deficit affecting mobility prior to stroke.

INTERVENTION

A four-week regime of independent practice aimed at improving aspects of balance, as an addition to standard physiotherapy treatment based on the Bobath Approach.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Proportion of patients achieving 'normal' symmetry of weight distribution during sitting, standing, rising to stand, sitting down, and reaching.

RESULTS

Nineteen subjects were randomized to the control group; nine to the intervention group. There were no clinically significant differences in measured outcome between the groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The regime of independent practice had no measured beneficial effect on the balance ability of patients with recently acquired stroke.

Use of Visual Feedback in Retraining Balance Following Acute Stroke

Background and Purpose. Visual feedback related to weight distribution and center-of-pressure positioning has been shown to be effective in increasing stance symmetry following stroke, although it is not clear whether functional balance ability also improves. This study compared the relative effectiveness of visual feedback training of center-of-gravity (CoG) positioning with conventional physical therapy following acute stroke. Subjects. Forty-six people who had strokes within 80 days before the study, resulting in unilateral hemiparesis, and who were in need of balance retraining participated. Methods and Materials. Initially, subjects were randomly assigned to visual feedback or conventional physical therapy groups for balance retraining until 16 subjects per group were recruited. The next 14 subjects were assigned to a control group. All subjects received physical therapy and occupational therapy (regular therapy) 2 hours a day, and subjects in the 2 experimental groups received additional balance training 30 minutes a day until discharge. The visual feedback group received information about their CoG position as they shifted their weight during various activities. The conventional therapy group received verbal and tactile cues to encourage symmetrical stance and weight shifting. Static (postural sway) and activity-based measures of balance (Berg Balance Scale, gait speed, and the Timed “Up & Go” Test) were contrasted across the 3 groups at baseline, at discharge, and at 1 month following discharge using an analysis of variance for repeated measures. Results. All groups demonstrated marked improvement over time for all measures of balance ability, with the greatest improvements occurring in the period from baseline to discharge. No between-group differences were detected in any of the outcome measures. Conclusion and Discussion. Visual feedback or conventional balance training in addition to regular therapy affords no added benefit when offered in the early stages of rehabilitation following stroke.