Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2013 , Vol 16, Issue 2
THE EFFECT OF AGE ON FUNCTIONAL REHABILITATION OUTCOMES AFTER STROKE
Pınar Öztop ÇİFTKAYA1, Nur Saraçgil COŞAR2, Oya Ümit YEMİŞCİ2, Şehri AYAŞ2, Kübra USTAÖMER3
1BaÅŸkent Ãœniversitesi, Fizik Tedavi ve Rehabilitasyon Ä°STANBUL
2BaÅŸkent Ãœniversitesi, Fizik Tedavi ve Rehabilitasyon ANKARA
3Özel Fizyotem Fizik Tedavi ve Rehabilitasyon Merkezi, Fizik Tedavi ve Rehabilitasyon TRABZON
Introduction: The aim of this study was to examine the characteristics of functional development in geriatric patients with hemiplegia after stroke and to compare them with non-geriatric patients' results.

Materials and Method: The medical records of 214 patients with hemiplegia after stroke who were admitted to rehabilitation were retrospectively reviewed. The functional state and ambulatory status of the patients were recorded at admission and at discharge, using Functional Independence Measurement (FIM) instrument and Functional Ambulation Scale (FAS). The patients were divided into two groups, under and over 65 years of age, and comparisons were made between the groups in terms of clinical features and functional status.

Results: Ninety nine (46.3 %) patients were under 65, and 115 patients (53.7 %) were over 65 years of age. The comparison of FIM and FAS scores revealed that the patients under 65 years of age had significantly higher total (p=0.002), cognitive (p=0.040) and motor (p=0.002) FIM scores at discharge, and their gained total (p=0.016) and motor (p=0.016) FIM scores, and FAS values (p=0.002) at discharge were significantly higher.

Conclusion: The findings of this study support the view that age has a negative impact on functional rehabilitation outcomes. Keywords : Stroke; Treatment Outcome; Rehabilitation; Aging