ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Stroke is a disabling disease. In elderly populations, stroke is the third leading cause of death and the primary cause of reduction in or loss of functional ability and personal autonomy. Possible associations between levels of total serum cholesterol (TC) and both incidence of stroke and functional outcomes after rehabilitation are still under study. OBJECTIVE: To detect positive and negative prognostic factors associated with functional outcomes in first-time stroke patients admitted to an integrated home care rehabilitative program. METHODS: This study enrolled 141 patients with a first-time stroke who were admitted to a home care rehabilitation program. Primary outcome measures were the Barthel activities of daily living (ADL) and mobility indices at the beginning and end of the rehabilitative treatment. The impact of TC and other demographic and clinical variables was analyzed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Age and Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ) score were negatively associated with functional outcome. In contrast, elevated TC was positively associated with a better home rehabilitative treatment outcome. Barthel index score at admission was negatively associated with outcomes assessed by the Barthel ADL index and age with outcomes assessed by the Barthel mobility index. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, SPMSQ score and elevated TC were significantly associated with outcome. Specifically, higher SPMSQ scores were negatively associated with better rehabilitative treatment outcomes, whereas elevated TC was positively associated. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated TC seems to be associated with better functional outcomes in patients with first-time stroke.
Subject(s)
Activities of Daily Living , Cholesterol/blood , Hypercholesterolemia/blood , Mental Health , Stroke Rehabilitation , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Health Status , Home Care Services , Humans , Italy , Logistic Models , Male , Mobility Limitation , Multivariate Analysis , Outcome Assessment, Health Care , Prognosis , Stroke/blood , Surveys and Questionnaires , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The object of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of post stroke depression and its possible role as a predictive negative factor in patients receiving home rehabilitation treatment. METHODS: We analyzed 103 patients with stroke by correlating comorbidities, clinical and blood test parameters and characteristics of the lesion with depression class identified according to the Hamilton scale and the outcome of the rehabilitation program. RESULTS: A significant association between hypertension and post-stroke severe depression emerged in the female patients. CONCLUSIONS: Since the literature offers conflicting data, our results may contribute a stimulus for further studies. KEYWORDS: Home care; Rehabilitation; Stroke; Depression; Hypertension.
ABSTRACT
An effective method based on capillary electrophoresis (CE) for the determination of netilmicin sulphate in commercial ophthalmic formulations was developed and validated. The use of a polymer-coated capillary and a non-absorbing running buffer permitted the elution of netilmicin in cationic mode at pH 3.0 and with direct UV detection at lambda=195 nm. Since pre-treatment of the samples is not required, this procedure may be straightforwardly applied to the other aminoglycosides provided that their extinction coefficient is not too low.
