Late motor recovery is influenced by muscle tone changes after stroke

Objectives: To evaluate the time course of motor recovery in a poststroke period ranging from 2 to 6 months and its correlation with both the severity of motor deficit and the muscle tone disturbances (flaccidity or spasticity) of the affected limbs. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: A comprehensive rehabilitation hospital. Participants: Forty consecutive stroke patients (21 men, 19 women) with first ischemic stroke who met the inclusion criteria. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measure: Change in motor deficit as evaluated by the Adams Hemispheric Stroke Scale. Results: Stepwise regression analysis indicated that the most significant factors influencing motor recovery were the time elapsed since stroke and muscle tone. Conclusions: Rehabilitation of stroke patients is more effective in the first months after the event rather than later, considering the significant correlation observed between motor recovery and time elapsed since stroke. Flaccid patients appear to need 3 months or more before reaching the final plateau, because motor recovery occurs later and/or proceeds more slowly, whereas outcomes for spastic patients with spasticity appears to occur in the first months after stroke

Improvement rate of patients with severe brain injury during post-acute intensive rehabilitation

Patients with severe acquired brain injury (SABI) may evolve towards different outcomes. The primary aim was to evaluate the clinical evolution of a large population of patients with SABI admitted to post-acute rehabilitation from 2001 to 2016, diagnosed with severe brain injury (GCS ≤ 8) in the acute phase and a coma duration of at least 24 h. The possible changes between the admission time to a post-acute rehabilitation hospital and the discharge time were measured by means of Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS), Level of Cognitive Functioning (LCF), and Disability Rating Scale (DRS). We also correlated the improvement rate with some sociodemographic and clinical features of the individuals with SABI enrolled. Data of 890 patients were analyzed (54% TBI, length of stay = 162 ± 186 days, GCS = 7.46 ± 1.28); time interval from the SABI (OR = 0.246, CI 95% = 0.181 – 0.333), scores at admission of LCF (OR = 2.243, CI 95% = 1.492 – 3.73), GOS (OR = 0.138, CI 95% = 0.071 – 0.266), DRS (OR = 0.457, CI 95% = 0.330 – 0.632), and etiology (OR = 2.273, CI 95% = 1.676 – 3.084) played a significant role (p < 0.001, explained variance 69.9%) for improving GOS score. Time interval from the SABI to admission in our post-acute rehabilitation ward (OR = 0.300, CI 95% = 0.179 – 0.501, p < 0.001), length of rehabilitation stay (OR = 2.808, CI 95% = 1.694 – 4.653, p < 0.001), and etiology (OR = 1.769, CI 95% = 1.095 – 2.857, p = 0.020) led to a statistically significant improvement in DRS (explained variance 91%). The most significant predictive factors for the outcome of patients with SABI were etiology, time interval from SABI to admission in rehabilitation, and length of rehabilitation stay

Cost-effectiveness of percutaneous vertebroplasty in osteoporotic vertebral fractures

A retrospective study was conducted in 179 consecutive patients (48 males, 131 females; mean age: 72.0 ± 8.59 years; range: 51–93) with single symptomatic acute amyelic osteoporotic vertebral fracture presenting between September 2004 and September 2005 to the Santa Lucia Foundation in Rome, Italy. Vertebral fractures usually become manifest due to pain which can be debilitating. Treatment depends on the presence or absence of spinal cord involvement. In the first case, surgical stabilization is mandatory. In the second case, treatment may be performed either by conservative medical therapy (CMT) or percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness, costs and cost-effectiveness of percutaneous vertebroplasty. After 2 weeks of analgesic therapy, 153 patients presented refractory pain and were offered treatment by PVT. A total of 58 patients accepted and underwent PVT (PVT group), while 95 refused and underwent conservative medical therapy (CMT group). Follow-up was performed by specialist consults, spine radiography and MRI and a self-assessment questionnaire evaluating pain using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and function using an ambulation and an Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale. A 12-month follow-up was obtained in 86 of 95 (90.5%) CMT group patients and 54 of 58 (93.1%) PVT group patients. Significant reduction of VAS and improvement of ambulation and ADL was observed in both groups at 1 week and 3 and 12 months (P < 0.05; Wilcoxon signed rank test), however, these results were significantly superior in the PVT group at 1 week and 3 months (P < 0.05; Mann–Whitney U test). Average cost per patient at 1 week and 3 and 12 months were respectively 755.49 ± 661.96, 3791.95 ± 3341.97 and 4299.55 ± 3211.53 € (CMT group) and 3311.35 ± 0.32, 3745.30 ± 3.59 and 4101.05 ± 755.41 € (PVT group). PVT resulted significantly more cost-effective than CMT with regards to the three scales at 1 week (P < 0.05; Mann–Whitney U test). At 3 months PVT was more cost-effective than CMT with regards to the three scales, however, the difference was significant only with regards to ambulation. No significant differences in cost-effectiveness where found between the two groups at 12 months. PVT should be considered the treatment of first choice in symptomatic acute amyelic osteoporotic vertebral fractures with refractory pain after a short period of analgesic therapy