Long-Term Outcomes of FIM Motor Items Predicted From Acute Stage NIHSS of Patients With Middle Cerebral Artery Infarct

OBJECTIVE: To outline the association between the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) in the acute stage and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) of motor items several months later. METHODS: Seventy-nine infarct cases with middle-cerebral-artery region transferred to long-term rehabilitation facilities were analyzed. Patients were allocated to either the model-development group or the confirmatory group at a 2:1 ratio. Independent variables were based on the NIHSS during the acute care and on demographic factors such as age and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) before onset. Multivariate logistic analyses were performed to predict the independence of each FIM motor item. These models were evaluated in the confirmatory group. RESULTS: Multivariate logistic analyses in the model-development group (n=53) indicated that at least one NIHSS item was statistically significantly associated with the functional independence of a single FIM motor item. Of the NIHSS items, the affected lower extremity item was the most widely associated with 11 of the FIM motor items, except for eating and shower transfer. The affected upper extremity function was the second widely involved factor associated with 7 of the FIM motor items including eating, grooming, bathing, toileting, bed transfer, toilet transfer, and shower transfer. Age and mRS were also statistically significant contributing factors. The obtained predictive models were assessed in the confirmatory group (n=26); these were successful except for the stairs climb item. CONCLUSION: In combination with age and pre-stroke status, the NIHSS items (especially the affected extremity items) may be useful for the prediction of long-term outcome in terms of activities in daily living.

Creation of the System That Support Ambulatory Care Clinical Pharmacist / 医薬品情報学

<b>Objective: </b>Pharmacotherapy for patients with breast cancer is now administered in an ambulatory setting, and we assume that patients would benefit if clinical pharmacists perform all stages of pharmacological intervention up to prescription in an ambulatory setting as well, especially for medicines requiring chronic administration and those that affect the patient’s life, such as hormonal therapy.  A thorough understanding of guidelines and the clinical reports is paramount for effective pharmacological intervention.  Since ambulatory care clinical pharmacists are involved in the treatment of a large number of patients, effective utilization of evidence outlined in guidelines and clinical reports is difficult.  Therefore, we developed a system for utilizing evidence as outlined in guidelines and clinical reports with a focus on hormonal therapy for patients with breast cancer.<br><b>Methods: </b>A database based on the 2013 version of the clinical practice guidelines for breast cancer and clinical reports was constructed using Microsoft® Access 2010.<br><b>Result: </b>Clicking on a guideline algorithm according to the disease stage of the patient results in a clinical question being displayed, and the ambulatory care clinical pharmacist is immediately able to determine suitable medications based on clinical reports that are run through the database.<br><b>Conclusion: </b>With the use of this database, which includes information required for pharmacological intervention, ambulatory care clinical pharmacists could care for a large number of patients.

A Study of the Liaison Critical Pathway for Stroke between an Acute Hospital and a Convalescent Rehabilitation Ward and the Effect of Clinical Factors on Outcome / The Japanese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine

We examined the effect of the liaison critical pathway for stroke among the inpatients in an acute hospital (AH) from 2007 to 2008. The average length of hospital stay in the AH was reduced by 5.7 days compared with 2006 by means of the critical pathway. Among 155 patients who had been transferred from the AH to a convalescent rehabilitation ward (CRW), 148 were discharged from the CRW. Ninety-seven patients returned home and 44 patients were transferred from the CRW to a nursing home type unit or an institution. One patient died in the CRW, six were returned to the AH. From among the clinical factors, that included sex, age, modified Rankin Scale (mRS), total, motor and cognitive scores of Functional independence measure (FIM) at discharge from the AH, total FIM scores and FIM gain at discharge from the CRW, mRS at discharge from the AH and total FIM scores at discharge from the CRW exerted an influence on outcome. Patients living with their spouses and / or children before the onset of stroke were more inclined to return home.