Effect and Outcome Predictors on Functional Recovery After Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Post-acute Care -Cerebrovascular Diseases

Charlson Comorbidity Index contains 19 categories of comorbidity and predicts the ten-year mortality for a patient who may have a range of co-morbid conditions Each condition is assigned with a score of 1,2,3 or 6 depending on the risk of dying associated with this condition. For a physician, it is helpful in knowing how aggressively to treat a condition. Higher scores indicating greater comorbidity (patients with a score > 5 have essentially a 100% risk of dying at one year).

The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) is a scale for measuring the degree of disability or dependence in the daily activities of people who have suffered a stroke or other causes of neurological disability. The scale runs from 0-6, running from perfect health without symptoms to death.

The mini mental state examination (MMSE) is the most commonly used instrument for screening cognitive function. This examination is not suitable for making a diagnosis but can be used to indicate the presence of cognitive impairment, such as in a person with suspected dementia or following a head injury. The examination has been validated in a number of populations. Scores of 25-30 out of 30 are considered normal; the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) classifies 21-24 as mild, 10-20 as moderate and <10 as severe impairment. The MMSE may not be an appropriate assessment if the patient has learning, linguistic/communication or other disabilities (eg, sensory impairments).

Brief Symptom Rating Scale is a rating scale which a clinician or researcher may use to measure psychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety, hallucinations and unusual behavior. Each symptom is rated 1-7 and depending on the version between a total of 18-24 symptoms are scored. The scale is the one of the oldest, widely used scales to measure psychotic symptoms and was first published in 1962.