Intensive nutritional supplements can improve outcomes in stroke rehabilitation.

Objective: Poor nutrition is a common complication of strokes severe enough to require inpatient rehabilitation. We therefore tested whether intensive nutritional supplements given to undernourished patients from the time of their admission to a specialized stroke rehabilitation service would improve patient outcomes.

Methods: Randomized, prospective, double-blind, single center study comparing intensive nutritional supplementation to routine nutritional supplementation in 116 undernourished patients admitted to a stroke service.

Admission C-reactive protein does not predict functional outcomes in patients with strokes in a subacute rehabilitation unit.

Objective: Because serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels correlate with the extent of inflammatory reactions, including acute strokes, we tested whether serum CRP levels on admission to a stroke rehabilitation unit help to predict functional outcome at discharge.

Design: We measured serum CRP level within 72 hrs of admission to an inpatient stroke rehabilitation unit in 102 successive patients transferred to rehabilitation within 4 wks following stroke and who met inclusion criteria.

Results: Patients with normal levels of serum CRP (< or =9.