Turkish Journal of
GERIATRICS

Ankara Fizik Tedavi Rehabilitasyon EÄŸitim AraÅŸtırma Hastanesi 5. FTR KliniÄŸi, ANKARA The objective of this study is to show the improvement in the ambulation level and daily living activities of 88 hemiplegic patients who admitted to our clinic. Patients who are taken to the rehabilitation program and ≥65 years old are included. Their daily living activities were evaluated at each admission and discharge by using Barthel Index (BI) and their ambulation level by Functional Ambulation Scale (FAS). Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) has been used to determine the cognitive functions of the patients. The mean of BI was 41.6.±22.5 on admission and 57.1.±26.2 on discharge. There was a statistically significant difference (p<0.01) between the the means of admission and discharge BI. While the FAS 0 patients. percent was 48.9 on their admission, this percent has dropped to 23.9 at the discharge. The percent of independent patients (FAS 4 + FAS 5) has increased from 12.5 to 36.5 at the end of the rehabilitation program. A statistically significant difference (p<0.01) was determined between their admission and discharge FAS. There was no statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in BI and FAS in regard to gender, educational level, hemiplegic side, systemic illness, hemiplegia duration and age (75 and over). It was observed that the marital status had an effect on FAS and BI. While the mean of BI on admission was 45.8 for the married cases, it was 30.3 for the divorced (p<0.05). FAS has been determined relatively high (p<0.05) among the married patients in both admission and discharge. BI and FAS of the cases whose MMSE were 24 and above were significantly higher during both the admission(p<0.05) and discharge (p<0.05). CVA is one of the illnesses which are seen most frequently and which cause serious disabilities. That is the reason why the rehabilitation of the geriatric hemiplegics is gaining a significant importance. In this study, it has been observed that the daily living activities and ambulation levels of the patients have been ameliorated significantly by a rehabilitation program lasting nearly 30 days. It has been discovered that the cognitive level of the patient is one of the important factors affecting the success of the rehabilitation program and the family support has a positive contribution to the recovery period. Keywords : Geriatrics, Hemiplegia, Daily living activities, Ambulation Level, Rehabilitation Outcomes.