Early rehabilitation and neuroprotective drug therapy outcomes in elderly patients with acute stroke

摘要

Sixty elderly patients, who suffered from acute stroke and were admitted within a 1-year period to the Department of Geriatrics in the First Affiliated Hospital of School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, China, underwent early rehabilitation in combination with neuroprotective drug therapy. Limb movement, cognitive functions and daily life self-care ability in elderly patients upon admission and discharge were assessed using the Hunt-Hess scale, functional independence measures and mini-mental state examination. The mean duration of hospital stay among the 60 patients was 35 days. Upon discharge, 42 (75%) of the patients exhibited cognitive impairment to varying degrees, and 25 (45%) of the 56 stroke patients who underwent rehabilitation evaluation attained independence in daily living activities, 11 (20%) required intermittent supervision, and 20 (36%) required 24-hour constant supervision during performance of these activities. Results demonstrated that early rehabilitation treatment in combination with neuroprotective therapy for acute stroke was effective.