The most important predictive factors for upper limb recovery following stroke appears to the initial severity of motor impairment or function
Objective : To systematic ally review and summarize the current available literature on prognostic variables relating to upper limb recovery following stroke .
To identify which , if any variables predict upper limb recovery following stroke .
Comparison of the action research arm test and the Fugl-Meyer assessment as measures of upper-extremity motor weakness after stroke.
OBJECTIVE To assess the relative responsiveness of 2 commonly used upper-extremity motor scales , the Action Research Arm Test ( ARAT ) and the Fugl-Meyer Assessment ( FMA ) , in evaluating recovery of upper-extremity function after an acute stroke in patients undergoing inpatient rehabilitation . DESIGN Prospect i ve . SETTING An acute stroke rehabilitation unit . PARTICIPANTS One hundred four consecutive admissions ( 43 men , 61 women ; mean age + /- st and ard deviation , 72+/-13y ) to a rehabilitation unit 16+/-9 days after acute stroke . INTERVENTIONS Not applicable . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The following assessment s were completed within 72 hours of admission and 24 hours before discharge :  ARAT , upper-extremity motor domain of the FMA , National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale , FIM instrument total score , and FIM activities of daily living ( FIM-ADL ) subscore .  RESULTS The Spearman rank correlation statistic indicated that the 2 upper-limb motor scales ( ARAT , FMA ) correlated highly with one another , both on admission ( rho = .77 , P < .001 ) and on discharge ( rho = .87 , P < .001 ) . The mean change in score from admission to discharge was 10+/-15 for the ARAT and 10+/-13 for the FMA motor score . The responsiveness to change as measured by the st and ard response mean was .68 for the ARAT and .74 for the FMA motor score . The Spearman rank correlation of each upper-limb motor scale with the FIM-ADL at the time of admission was as follows : ARAT , rho equal to .32 ( P < .001 ) and FMA motor score , rho equal to .54 ( P < .001 ) . CONCLUSIONS Both the FMA motor score and the ARAT were equally sensitive to change during inpatient acute rehabilitation and could be routinely used to measure recovery of upper-extremity motor function
The most important predictive factors for upper limb recovery following stroke appears to the initial severity of motor impairment or function
Objective : To systematic ally review and summarize the current available literature on prognostic variables relating to upper limb recovery following stroke .
To identify which , if any variables predict upper limb recovery following stroke .