Patients better off in stroke units
Patients have a better chance of living longer when they’re treated in a hospital’s stroke unit, European researchers have found.1 In addition, patients are better able to live independent, productive lives at home when they’ve had their treatment and rehabilitation in special units. Investigators assigned over 100 patients with acute stroke to stroke units and the same number to general wards. After five years, 35% of the stroke unit patients and only 18% of the other group were capable of living at home. Stroke unit patients had regained the ability to function independently and lived longer.
A European stroke unit consists of dedicated beds and a specialized team trained for diagnosis, systematic observation, acute treatment, and acute rehabilitation. Such units are more prevalent there than in the United States because government-sponsored health care systems there put more emphasis on total recovery.
Reference
1. Indredavik B, Slordahl SA, Bakke F, et al. Stroke unit treatment. Stroke 1997; 28:1,861-1,866.
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