Etiology of stroke subtypes.

The definitions and terms currently used to categorize and describe various stroke syndromes clearly reflect a change from years past when a stroke diagnosis was based on little more than clinical presentation. With the advent of sophisticated diagnostic technology and the development of precise diagnostic algorithms, diagnoses may be made more confidently for the various stroke subtypes. With more accurate diagnoses and a better understanding of the cause of certain stroke subtypes, perhaps the incidence of this condition will continue to decline and the management of those people who are at risk for stroke or already affected will improve.

Reliability of the activities of daily living scale and its use in telephone interview.

Activities of daily living (ADL), a popular outcome assessment tool for studies of disabled populations, was evaluated for use in multicentered studies. The interobserver reliability of a modified Barthel Index of the ADL was evaluated on 18 stroke patients. Reliabilities between administrators of the ADL and between observers of the ADL administrations were r = .99 for total scores and r greater than .90 for most of the individual component items. The validity of ADL evaluation based on telephone interviews was demonstrated relative to ADL scores obtained on 72 patients in a direct test of their performance capabilities. The correlations between the performance-based ADL and the interview-based ADL were r greater than .97 for the total score and r greater than .85 for most of the individual items. The modified Barthel Index of the ADL is a reliable measure for assessing stable stroke patients, supporting its use in multicenter studies. In addition, the high validity observed in the telephone interview supports its use in longitudinal studies and large surveys where direct performance evaluation is not feasible or too costly.

The Stroke Data Bank project: implications for nursing research.

The Stroke Data Bank (SDB) is a systematic prospective study of the diagnosis, clinical course, and outcome of a large series of stroke cases. The SDB uses an interdisciplinary approach, with neurologists, nurse clinicians, epidemiologists, statisticians, and computer scientists collaborating to study stroke research issues, including diagnosis of stroke subtypes, characterization of the course and outcome of each stroke type, and identification of nonclinical factors that influence outcome. Research questions germaine to nursing management of stroke patients include: the identification of acute stroke patients likely to develop life-threatening or recovery-impeding complications; assessment of the impact of stroke on ability to perform activities of daily living; determination of how depression affects functional recovery; and identification of quantifiable measures of stroke outcome.