Background: Few data are available on the specific care giving-related problems of stroke patient’s caregivers and factors that influence the burden of these caregivers. Aim: To study the influences of the active rehabilitation process on anxiety, depression, care burden and perceived social support level of stroke patients caregivers. Design: A prospective clinical trial. Setting: Patients and caregivers entering a rehabilitation program at a university hospital in Turkey. Populations: Ninety patients with a first episode of stroke and 90 caregivers responsible for their care were recruited for our study. Methods: Patients and caregivers were assessed before and after the active rehabilitation process. The functional disability level of the patients was assessed by Functional Independence Measure (FIM). The Beck Anxiety Scale (BAS) and the Beck Depression Scale (BDS) were used for anxiety and depression assessment, the Zarit Care Burden Scale (ZCBS) for care burden assessment and the Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MDSPSS) for perceived social support assessment. Results: A statistically significant rise is observed in the special person sub-assessment of MDSPSS in both female and male caregivers. Also, a significant decrease in care burden, anxiety and depression levels of caregivers was noted after the rehabilitation program (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Caregivers accept the rehabilitation period as important social support in addition to the support provided by family and friends. Also, our positive results were associated with an improvement in the patients’ functional level and an increase in the acquisition of knowledge and skill required of caregivers in order to provide care during rehabilitation. Clinical Rehabilitation Impact: The rehabilitation team should be aware of the fact that the perceived care burden may be greater due to the lack of knowledge concerning available resources and due to the inability to cope with stress effectively. and A. Y. Karahan, S. Kucuksen, H. Yilmaz, A. Salli, T. Gungor, M. Sahin
Úvod: Kardiochirurgické výkony jsou zatíženy signifikantním rizikem vzniku ischemické cévní mozkové příhody (CMP), které se dle jednotlivých studií pohybuje mezi 1,3 a 3,6 %. Asymptomatické ischemické infarkty lze detekovat po kardiochirurgické operaci dokonce až u 32 % pacientů. Cílem studie je prokázat efekt sonolýzy (kontinuálního transkraniálního dopplerovského (TCD) monitoringu a. cerebri media (ACM)) u pacientů podstupujících kardiochirurgický výkon na snížení rizika vzniku nových ischemických lézí detekovaných pomocí magnetické rezonance (MR). Soubor a metodika: Do studie jsou zařazováni pacienti indikovaní k izolovanému aortokoronárnímu bypassu nebo k izolovanému výkonu na jedné srdeční chlopni. Pacienti jsou randomizováni do skupiny se sonolýzou (monitorování pomocí TCD) a kontrolní skupiny bez sonolýzy. U všech pacientů byla provedena MR mozku před výkonem a 24 hod po něm a byla hodnocena četnost výskytu, lokalizace a velikost nových ischemických změn po výkonu. Výsledky: Během 16 měsíců bylo zařazeno 78 pacientů (48 mužů, průměrný věk 63,7 ? 15,8 let), 35 pacientů bylo randomizováno do skupiny se sonolýzou, 43 pacientů do kontrolní skupiny. Ve skupině sonolýzy byly detekovány nové ischemické změny u osmi pacientů (23 %) – u pěti (14 %) v povodí pravé (stimulované) ACM, ale jen u dvou (6 %) větší než 0,5 cm3. V kontrolní skupině byly detekovány nové ischemické změny u 10 pacientů (23 %) – u osmi (19 %) v povodí pravé ACM, u pěti (12 %) větší než 0,5 cm3 (p > 0,05 ve všech případech). Závěr: Pilotní data studie prokázala trend k redukci počtu i objemu ischemických lézí mozku u pacientů se sonolýzou v průběhu kardiochirurgické operace., Background: Heart surgery is burdened with a significant risk of ischemic stroke. Asymptomatic cerebral infarctions can be detected in as many as 32% of patients after heart surgery. The aim of this study is to prove the efficacy of sonolysis (continual transcranial Doppler (TCD) monitoring) during open-heart surgery to decrease the risk of new brain infarctions detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Material and methods: Patients indicated to isolated coronary artery bypass or isolated one heart valve surgery were included in the study. Patients were randomized to a sonolysis group (TCD monitoring), and to a control group without sonolysis. All patients underwent brain MRI before and 24 hours after the surgery and the presence of new ischemic lesions was evaluated. Results: During 16 months, 78 patients (48 males, mean age 63.7 ? 15.8 years) were enrolled to the study. Thirty five patients were randomized to the sonolysis group and 43 to the control group. In the sonolysis group, new brain infarctions were found in eight (23%) patients – in the right (TCD-monitored) MCA territory in five patients (14%) but > 0.5 cm3 in two (6%) patients only. In the control group, new infarctions were found in 10 patients (23%) – in the right (TCD-monitored) MCA in eight (19%) patients and > 0.5 cm3 in five (12 %) (p > 0.05 in all cases). Conclusion: Pilot study results showed a trend towards reduction in a number and volume of new brain ischemic lesions in patients treated with sonolysis during heart surgery. Key words: ultrasound – sonolysis – brain ischemia – coronary artery bypass graft – heart valve – magnetic resonance imaging – brain The authors declare they have no potential conflicts of interest concerning drugs, products, or services used in the study. The Editorial Board declares that the manuscript met the ICMJE “uniform requirements” for biomedical papers., and E. Hurtíková, M. Roubec, M. Kuliha, A. Goldírová, J. Havelka, R. Brát, M. Bortlíček, R. Herzig, D. Školoudík