Article

OBJECTIVE: To further validate the simplified modified Rankin Scale questionnaire
(smRSq), we compare it here to a well-established predictor of functional outcome
after stroke, the initial stroke severity. DESIGN:
Retrospective correlation
analysis. PARTICIPANTS:
Forty patients identified from a registry of stroke
patients treated with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator. SETTING:
Community and 17 hospital Emergency Departments within a web-based telestroke
network throughout the state of Georgia, USA. MEASURES: Five certified raters
assessed the initial stroke severities with the National Institutes of Health
Stroke Scale (NIHSS) via the telestroke system. Over a 20 month period, one
certified rater, unaware of the NIHSS scores, attempted to contact each patient
in the registry to assess their functional outcomes with the smRSq via telephone.
We analyzed patients who had the smRSq assessment at least three months after
stroke. RESULTS: Forty of 120 registered patients were contacted and qualified
for this study. The baseline clinical characteristics of the 40 analyzed and the
80 disqualified patients were similar. The correlation between the initial NIHSS
and the smRSq was good
(r = 0.69, R(2) = 0.47, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The good
correlation of the smRSq with the initial stroke severity further confirms the
smRSq validity in assessing functional outcome after stroke.

Langue : ANGLAIS