Prevalence of sensory impairments and its contribution to functional disability in individuals with acute stroke: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Although the literature suggests high prevalences of sensory impairments after stroke, the independent contribution of sensory modalities to functionality needs further investigation.

Objective: To identify the prevalence and characterize the sensory impairment in adults with stroke and to verify the contribution of proprioceptive and exteroceptive impairments to their functional disability.

Methods: Exploratory cross-sectional study conducted in a hospital stroke unit.

Contextual and clinical factors as explainers of stroke severity, residual motor impairments, and functional independence during hospitalization.

Objective: To investigate if contextual and clinical factors would explain stroke severity, residual motor impairments, and functional independence in people with stroke during hospitalization.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study retrieved data from medical records between January 2014 to December 2021. Explanatory independent variables were contextual (sex, age, marital status, occupation, and local of residence) and clinical (stroke type, length of hospital stay, and cognitive function) factors.

Cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Parkinson's disease sleep scale-2 (PDSS-2).

Objectives: The Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale-2 (PDSS-2) is an updated tool designed to identify specific sleep disturbances in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, for its application in Brazil, a process of cross-cultural adaptation and validation of its measurement properties is required.

Methods: This methodological study adapted the PDSS-2 to Brazilian Portuguese (PDSS-2-Br) and assessed its measurement properties, including internal consistency, test-retest reliability, measurement error, construct validity, and interpretability.

Acute predictors of self-rated health in individuals with stroke at 3 and 12 months after hospital discharge.

Background: Self-rated health (SRH) is the perception of an individual regarding their health and an indicator of health status. Identifying predictors of SRH allows the selection of evidence-based interventions that mitigate factors leading to poor SRH and the identification of individuals at risk of worse SRH.

Objective: To determine the acute predictors of general and time-comparative SRH of individuals with stroke at 3 and 12 months after hospital discharge, considering personal, physical, and mental functions.

General and Specific Quality of Life Course of Individuals with Different Levels of Stroke Severity: A One-Year Prospective Longitudinal Study.

Objectives: To compare the course of generic and specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of individuals with stroke, and its physical, mental, and social domains, at three, six, and 12 months after hospital discharge, considering the levels of stroke severity.

Methods: This is a longitudinal study, in stroke individuals, assessed during hospital admission by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and divided into mild (NIHSS ≤3) or moderate/severe (NIHSS ≥4) disease. At three, six, and 12 months after hospital discharge, the individuals were assessed for generic (Short Form Health Survey-36: total score and physical and mental domains) and specific (Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale: total score and social domain) HRQOL.

Telephone-based application of the Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Background:  The Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (ADLQ) focuses on assessing the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) based on the self-perception of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). A Brazilian Portuguese version of the questionnaire is available (ADLQ-Brazil), and further investigation is needed to fully assess its measurement properties.

Objective:  To investigate construct and concurrent validity of the telephone-based administration of the ADLQ-Brazil with community individuals with PD.

Acute clinical outcomes predict both generic and specific health-related quality of life six and 12 months after stroke: A one-year prospective study developed in a middle-income country.

Objective: To identify acute predictors of generic and specific health-related quality of life (HRQoL) six and 12 months after stroke in individuals from a middle-income country.

Material And Methods: This was a prospective study. The dependent outcomes assessed during six and 12 months after stroke included both generic and specific HRQoL (Short Form Health Survey-36 [SF-36] and stroke-specific quality of life [SSQOL]).

Determinants of access to rehabilitation professionals by individuals with stroke in the first six months after hospital discharge in Brazil: a study based on the Andersen model.

Background: determinants of access to rehabilitation professionals after stroke in middle-income countries, where the burden of this disease is higher, are little known.

Objectives: To identify the determinants of access to rehabilitation professionals by individuals with stroke at one, three, and six months after hospital discharge in Brazil and compare referral and access rates after discharge.

Methods: Longitudinal and prospective study, with individuals with primary stroke, without previous disabilities.

Longitudinal associations between stroke-related neurologic deficits and course of basic activities of daily living up to six months after stroke.

Purpose: To investigate the course of basic activities of daily living (ADL) from admission up to six months after the stroke and the longitudinal associations between stroke-related neurological deficits at admission to the stroke unit and course of basic ADL.

Materials And Methods: 180 individuals with a first-ever stroke were assessed at admission to the stroke unit and at follow-ups of three and six months. Stroke-related neurological deficits were assessed at admission with the National Institutes of Stroke Scale (NIHSS).

Barriers and facilitators to access post-stroke rehabilitation services in the first six months of recovery in Brazil.

Purpose: To identify barriers and facilitators to accessing post-stroke rehabilitation services six months after discharge from the stroke unit of a Brazilian public hospital.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional and descriptive study collected sociodemographic and clinical-functional data during hospitalization. Then, barriers and facilitators for accessing the post-stroke rehabilitation services were collected six months after discharge.

R3-Walk and R6-Walk, Simple Clinical Equations to Accurately Predict Independent Walking at 3 and 6 Months After Stroke: A Prospective, Cohort Study.

Objective: To investigate if independent walking at 3 and 6 months poststroke can be accurately predicted within the first 72 hours, based on simple clinical bedside tests.

Design: Prospective observational cohort study with 3-time measurements: immediately after stroke, and 3 and 6 months poststroke.

Setting: Public hospital.

Predicting self-perceived manual ability at three and six months after stroke: A prospective longitudinal study.

Background: Recovery of manual ability is a critical issue in rehabilitation. Currently, little is known regarding the baseline predictors of self-perceived manual ability, which could capture information on individual's perceived functional ability, especially in carrying-out routine tasks outside clinical settings.

Objective: To identify baseline predictors, which can be easily obtained within clinical settings, of self-perceived manual ability at three and six months after discharge from a stroke unit.

Balance deficit is the domain of the Fugl-Meyer scale that best explain limitations in functional independence during hospitalization after a stroke.

Purpose: To investigate which of the residual sensorimotor impairments, assessed by the Fugl-Meyer scale, would best explain functional independence during hospitalization after a stroke.

Methods: This cross-sectional study retrieved data from medical records between January 2014 to December 2021. Explanatory independent variables were the following domains of the Fugl-Meyer scale: joint pain, joint range of motion, balance, sensory function, and motor function of the upper and lower limbs.

Access to rehabilitation professionals by individuals with stroke one month after hospital discharge from a stroke unit in Brazil is insufficient regardless of the pandemic.

Objective: To compare access to rehabilitation professionals by individuals with stroke one month after hospital discharge from a stroke unit in Brazil, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials And Methods: This longitudinal and prospective study included individuals aged 20 years or older without previous disabilities admitted into a stroke unit due to a first stroke. Individuals were divided into two groups: before (G1) and during (G2) the COVID-19 pandemic.

Individuals with stroke three months after hospital discharge reported worse quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: To compare quality of life (QOL) of individuals with stroke three months after hospital discharge, using generic and specific QOL measures, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Individuals, who were admitted to a public hospital, were recruited and evaluated before (G1) and during (G2) the COVID-19 pandemic. The groups were matched for age, sex, socio-economic status, and levels of stroke severity (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale) and functional dependence (Modified Barthel Index).

Predictors of access to healthcare services within 1 month after stroke in a developing country: A longitudinal prospective study.

Background: Globally, people with disabilities face difficulties accessing care, resulting in worse health outcomes and higher healthcare costs. However, information regarding access to healthcare services for stroke survivors in developing countries is scarce.

Objective: To identify predictors of access to healthcare services within 1 month of hospital discharge in a developing country (Brazil).

Habitual walking speed and fatigue explain self-reported functional capacity after stroke.

Introduction: Individuals after stroke present several motor impairments, which reduced the functional capacity. The understanding of modifiable factors which are related to functional capacity in individuals with chronic stroke could better direct clinical practice. However, the mechanisms that could influence functional capacity in individuals with chronic stroke are not fully understood.

Functional independence measured in the acute phase of stroke predicts both generic and specific health-related quality of life: a 3-month prospective study in a middle-income country.

Purpose: To identify acute predictors of both generic and specific health-related quality of life (HRQoL) 3 months after stroke in individuals from a middle-income country.

Materials And Methods: A 3-month prospective study with individuals who had suffered their first stroke, without previous disability, discharged from a stroke unit. The dependent outcomes, assessed 3 months after stroke, were generic and specific HRQoL (SF-36 and SSQOL total scores, respectively).

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire-Brazil in Parkinson's disease.

Background: Culturally adapted measures to assess the performance of activities of daily living (ADL) in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) are limited in Brazil.

Objective: To adapt the ADL Questionnaire to the Brazilian culture and to analyze its reproducibility in individuals with PD.

Methods: The ADL Questionnaire was translated and cross-culturally adapted to Brazilian Portuguese language.

King's Parkinson's Disease Pain Scale (KPPS): Cross-cultural adaptation to Brazilian Portuguese and content validity.

Pain is one of the most common and troublesome non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). The King's Parkinson's Disease Pain Scale (KPPS) is the first scale of its kind to evaluate the burden and characterization of various phenotypes of pain in individuals with PD. The purpose of this study was to adapt the KPPS to Brazilian culture and to assess its content validity using the Delphi method.

Test-retest reliability and measurement error of the modified gait efficacy scale in individuals with stroke.

Purpose: To investigate the test-retest reliability and measurement error of the Brazilian version of the modified Gait Efficacy scale (mGES-Brazil) in individuals who have had stroke.

Methods: The mGES-Brazil was applied on two occasions, five to seven days apart, in a research laboratory setting. Test-retest reliability and measurement error, which included the standard error of measurement (SEM), smallest detectable change (SDC), and analysis of the limits of agreement by the Bland-Altman plots, were examined.

Fall Efficacy Scale-International cut-off score discriminates fallers and non-fallers individuals who have had stroke.

Background: Falls, which are common events after stroke, may lead to activity limitations and increased dependence. It is important to identify which commonly employed clinical measures could differentiate individuals, who are fallers from the non-fallers.

Aim: To investigate specific cut-off values of clinical measures that could discriminate fallers and non-fallers individuals with chronic stroke.