title: Tolerance of a standing tilt table protocol by patients an inpatient stroke unit setting:  a pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe and examine physiologic and self-reported indices of tolerance to a standing tilt table protocol (STTP) among patients following an acute stroke.
  
  
  METHODS
  We undertook a prospective, observational pilot study of patients admitted to a stroke unit of a single academic medical center. A clinical protocol for the use of the tilt table was developed and applied to subjects in the acute phase following a stroke. The protocol involved a stepwise process to gradually raise the subject into a standing position on the tilt table platform, at 10° intervals from 60° to 90°. Tolerance of the STTP was operationally defined as the ability to sustain 60° or greater of tilt table inclination for a minimum of 5 minutes, without signs or symptoms of intolerance. Specific measures recorded were frequencies of the highest angle achieved, the duration of standing time tolerated, and physiologic response.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-six patients with ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke (22 women and 14 men) aged 24 to 87 (mean age = 62, SD = 16) years participated in a single trial of the STTP. Fifty-three percent of subjects (N = 19) attained 60° or higher on the tilt table, with a mean total standing time of approximately 9 minutes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This pilot study suggests that the use of a tilt table is well tolerated among patients in the acute stroke phase and may be an effective tool for introducing early upright mobilization to a medically fragile patient population.Video Abstract available (see Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1, available at: http://links.lww.com/JNPT/A35) for more insights from the authors.
authors: University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor 48109, USA. mathewj@med.umich.edu
authors: Mathew J
authors: MJ
authors: Baltz
authors: Hendrika L
authors: HL
authors: Lietz
authors: Ida Trott
authors: IT
authors: Sausser
authors: Claire
authors: C
authors: Kalpakjian
authors: Devin
authors: D
authors: Brown
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D018667:Tilt-Table Test / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D055815:Young Adult
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