BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Barthel Index (BI) and the Modified Rankin Scale (MRS) are commonly used scales that measure disability or dependence in activities of daily living in stroke victims. The objective of this study was to investigate how these scales were used and interpreted in acute stroke trials. METHODS We identified from MEDLINE the major efficacy trials with neuroprotective drugs...

BACKGROUND To perform decision analyses that include stroke as one of the possible health states, the utilities of stroke states must be determined. We reviewed the literature to obtain estimates of the utility of stroke and explored the impact of the study population and the elicitation method. SUMMARY OF REVIEW We searched various databases for articles reporting empirical assessment of uti...

INTRODUCTION Decompressive hemicraniectomy for malignant middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarction is known to reduce mortality. However, there are on-going concerns in terms of the quality of life in survivors. We aimed to examine the correlation between patient and physician reported outcome measures in decompressive hemicraniectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS We analyzed outcomes in 21 patients wh...

1 that illustrated the importance of measuring motor function, not just impairment and disability, after stroke. These authors report results from 43 people who had experienced stroke between 5 days and 9.4 years before assessment. Global measures of disability (modified Rankin Scale) and impairment (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale) were made, as well as measures of impairment specif...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) was designed to measure poststroke recovery but is often used to describe pre-stroke disability. We sought to evaluate three aspects of pre-stroke mRS: validity as a measure of pre-stroke disability; prognostic accuracy and association of pre-stroke mRS scores, and process of care. METHODS We used data from a large, UK clinical registry. ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The goal of this study was to evaluate the utility of perfusion-weighted CT (PWCT) in predicting final infarct volume and clinical outcome in patients with acute middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke. METHODS Twenty-two consecutive patients with MCA stem occlusion who underwent intra-arterial thrombolysis within 6 hours of stroke onset had noncontrast CT and CT angiograph...

BACKGROUND Malignant cerebral infarction is a well-recognized disease, comprising 10-15% of all cases with cerebral infarction and causing herniation and death in 80% of cases. In this study, we compare the effects of decompressive craniectomy versus conventional medical treatment on mortality rate and functional and neurological outcome in patients with malignant MCA infarction. METHODS We p...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Visuospatial inattention (VSI) and language impairment (LI) are often present early after stroke and associations with an unfavorable short-term functional outcome have been reported. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a screening of VSI and LI as indicators of cortical symptoms early after stroke could predict long-term functional outcomes. METHODS A ...

Body fluid biomarkers of central nervous system damage may help improve the prognostic and diagnostic accuracy in ischemic stroke. We studied 53 patients. Stroke severity and outcome was rated using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and modified Rankin scale. Ferritin, S100B, and NfH were measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum. Infarct volume was calculated from T2W images...