PREDICTORS OF SHORT-TERM FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES OF STROKE PATIENTS ADMITTED TO St. PAUL HOSPITAL MILLENNIUM MEDICAL COLLEGE

Abstract

Abstract Background: All elements of health-related quality of life are impacted by stroke, but the physical, cognitive, and psycho-emotional spheres of life are severely affected. The most frequent neurologic complication found in stroke survivors is hemiparesis, which is a motor disability. The functional outcome of stroke patients is effectively measured by activities of daily life using measures like functional independent measure(FIM) score. Objective: The aim of this study is to assess predictors short-term functional outcomes in stroke patients admitted to Saint Paul’s Millennium Medical College. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted at St. Paul’s Millennium Medical College. By including all admitted patients who fulfilled the eligibility criteria until the preplanned sample size was achieved, seventy-six patients were included in the study from May 1, 2023, to October 30, 2023. Patients were classified based on their enrollment in physiotherapy care. The functional recovery at the third week from stroke onset was taken as an outcome variable to analyze between the groups. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using the chisquare test, independent sample t-test, and biniary logistic regression to determine the associations among variables. A p value less than 0.05 was taken to indicate the significance of the association between variables. Result: Thirty patients (39.5%) were enrolled in physiotherapy care. Enrollment in physiotherapy care was shown to have a significant positive association with short-term functional recovery with P = 0.006, OR = 5.361, 95% CI (4.499–10.745). The intensity of the physiotherapy session, as measured by the total physiotherapy hour, also had a significant positive association with short-term functional recovery. Age, presence of comorbidities, development of in-hospital complications, and intensity of physiotherapy had a significant negative association with short-term functional outcomes. Conclusion: Enrollment in physiotherapy care has been shown to bring better short-term functional recovery. Physiotherapy care should be included as a part of routine post-stroke management for all patients. Key words: Stroke, Functional outcome, Physiotherapy, Ethiopia