title: Orthostatic tolerance training of stroke patients in general medical wards. An experimental study.
abstract: In order to initiate early activation and counteract the negative effects of bed rest, 71 patients acutely admitted to hospital with a confirmed stroke were randomized to either training or control wards. Sixty-three persons participated in a first orthostatic tolerance test on days 5-7 after admission, which was replicated on days 10-12. A third test was performed three months later. Regular stand-ups were initiated on days 1-2 after admission to hospital and were continued for 1-2 weeks. The trained group had a lower increase in heart rate during tilting and a lower proportion of severely disabled patients on days 5-7 compared with the control group. This difference was statistically significant but cannot be proved to be a result from the regular stand-ups. Still, this minimum type of early activation can be recommended for acute stroke patients, mainly those with a cerebral infarction, who are able to cooperate with the nursing staff.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Enköping Hospital, Sweden.
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Asberg
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001510:Bed Rest / Q000009:adverse effects; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004434:Early Ambulation; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic