Patient positioning and its effect on brain oxygenation.

Abstract

Stroke remains the third most common cause of death and the leading cause of major disability in the developed world. Recent evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) suggests that some pharmacological treatments, such as aspirin (Chinese Acute Stroke Trial Collaborative Group, 1997; International Stroke Trial Collaborative Group, 1997) and thrombolytic ('clot-busting') drugs (Wardlaw et al, 1999), may be beneficial for particular subgroups of stroke patients. However, the benefits of pharmacological treatments are rather modest when compared to 'organised care' on a stroke unit (Stroke Unit Trialists' Collaboration, 1998)