BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although care in stroke units has improved outcome in stroke patients, it is less clear whether specialized outpatient care after stroke can further improve the prognosis. We therefore conducted a pilot study comparing specialized long-term care with usual care after a first stroke. METHODS: During a 2-year period, 549 patients were discharged alive from our stroke unit. Eighty-one patients were randomized to follow-up care at the stroke outpatient clinic (intervention group), and 82 patients wererandomized to follow-up care with their general practitioner (control group). RESULTS: No differences in baseline variables were noted between the 2 groups. At the 12-month visit, there were no significant differences between the groups with respect to handicap, depression, and perceived health. During 3.5 years of follow-up, no differences in mortality, stroke recurrence rate, and unplanned hospitalizations were observed between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: In this small pilot study, specialized follow-up service for stroke patients was not superior to "usual care."
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although care in stroke units has improved outcome in strokepatients, it is less clear whether specialized outpatient care after stroke can further improve the prognosis. We therefore conducted a pilot study comparing specialized long-term care with usual care after a first stroke. METHODS: During a 2-year period, 549 patients were discharged alive from our stroke unit. Eighty-one patients were randomized to follow-up care at the strokeoutpatient clinic (intervention group), and 82 patients were randomized to follow-up care with their general practitioner (control group). RESULTS: No differences in baseline variables were noted between the 2 groups. At the 12-month visit, there were no significant differences between the groups with respect to handicap, depression, and perceived health. During 3.5 years of follow-up, no differences in mortality, stroke recurrence rate, and unplanned hospitalizations were observed between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: In this small pilot study, specialized follow-up service for strokepatients was not superior to "usual care."
Authors: Bernadeta Bridgwood; Kate E Lager; Amit K Mistri; Kamlesh Khunti; Andrew D Wilson; Priya Modi Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2018-05-07
Authors: Anna-Lotta Irewall; Joachim Ögren; Lisa Bergström; Katarina Laurell; Lars Söderström; Thomas Mooe Journal: PLoS One Date: 2015-10-16 Impact factor: 3.240