Acute ischemic stroke: relationship of brain lesion location & functional outcome.

Purpose: To establish, using brain spiral computerised tomography (SCT) and modified Barthel index (MBI), whether the location of cerebral infarction could be correlated with functional outcome in acute ischemic stroke patients who undergo early intensive rehabilitation.

Methods: Observational cohort, assessor blinded and correlational prospective 12-weeks study that included 111 acute ischemic stroke patients, admitted consecutively to an early intensive inpatient rehabilitation programme (5 days a week, 3-5 h a day) during 2003. Confirmation of diagnosis and stratification was done by brain SCT.