Association of spasticity and life satisfaction after spinal cord injury.

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey; secondary analysis of existing data by linear regression analysis between spasticity and quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To identify the relationship between spasticity and life satisfaction as measured by three multi-item factor scales and a rating of overall quality of life among participants with spinal cord injury (SCI). SETTING: Large specialty hospital in the Southeastern United States. METHODS: Participants included 1549 adults with traumatic spinal cord injuries, at least 18 years of age and a minimum of 1-year post-injury at survey. Outcome measures included: (1) home life satisfaction, (2) global satisfaction, (3) vocational satisfaction, (4) overall quality of life and (5) three subscales from the Patient Reported Impact of Spasticity Measure. RESULTS: Three aspects of spasticity (daily activities, positive impact and spasticity at its worst) all were negatively correlated with home life satisfaction, global satisfaction and overall quality of life. Only the daily activities scale and the spasticity at its worst rating had a significant negative correlation with vocational satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Spasticity is negatively associated with quality of life after SCI. These negative outcomes need to be considered in an individual's rehabilitation and treatment methods.

Tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) in acute ischemic stroke: Outcomes associated with ambulation.

PURPOSE: Several clinical trials have highlighted general favorable outcomes of intravenous tissue type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) in acute ischemic stroke using different measures including, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Findings from most of these measures indicate that the benefits of rt-PA are time dependent, thus, supporting intensive efforts to fast-track hospital thrombolytic treatment in patients with stroke. Despite the widespread benefits of rt-PA, the effectiveness of this therapy on specific functions such as ambulatory performance of the recovering stroke patient is not fully investigated. We aim to investigate this issue in the current study. METHODS: We analyzed data from a retrospective cohort of acute ischemic stroke patients admitted to Greenville Health System (GHS) between 2010-2013. We identified patients who received rt-PA within a 4.5 hour time frame following the onset of acute ischemic stroke symptoms. Our analysis compared ambulatory variables and hospital-level characteristics in proportions of patients receiving rt-PA with those not receiving rt-PA. This analysis determined whether early treatment with rt-PA is associated with favorable changes in ambulatory status from admission to discharge following acute ischemic stroke. RESULTS: Among 663 patients with ischemic stroke who were eligible to receive rt-PA, 241 patients received rt-PA and 422 patients did not due to several risk factors. We found a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001) for changes in ambulation status from hospital admission to discharge between patients receiving rt-PA and patients who did not receive rt-PA. Among patients who received rt-PA, 27.8% improved in their ambulation status, 41.9% saw no change in their ambulation status, 0.4% worsened in their ambulation status, and 29.9% were unable to be determined. Of the patients who did not receive rt-PA, 20.1% improved in their ambulation status, 61.8% saw no change in their ambulation status, 1.4% worsened in their ambulation status, and 16.6% were unable to be determined. CONCLUSION: Our current study indicates that early treatment with rt-PA may be associated with favorable changes in ambulatory status from admission to discharge following acute ischemic stroke.