A REVIEW ON EVIDENCE-BASED GUIDELINES AND CLINICAL PATHWAYS IN STROKE REHABILITATION

Rajakumari Mannepalli*, Sreeenu Thalla and Padmalatha Kantamneni

ABSTRACT

Increase in stroke-related disability was globally observed over the last 3 decades as high societal burden. Multidisciplinary stroke rehabilitation reduces stroke-related disability both in older and younger stroke survivors of either sex and independent of stroke severity. There is rapidly increasing evidence to support the clinical effectiveness of specific stroke rehabilitation interventions. For best possible clinical practice Evidence-based guidelines can help and promote better outcome. A systematic review of literature indicates that the currently published stroke rehabilitation guidelines have a national background and focus and represent the health care situations in high-income countries. Such knowledge could facilitate a more wide-spread development of valid comprehensive up-to-date evidence-based national guidelines. In addition, the development of genuine international evidence-based stroke rehabilitation guidelines that focus on therapeutic approaches rather than organizational issue, could be used by many to structure regional or local stroke rehabilitation pathways and to develop their resources in a way that will eventually achieve effective stroke rehabilitation. Such international practice recommendations for stroke rehabilitation are currently under development by the World Federation for neuro rehabilitation (WFNR).

Keywords: Rehabilitation, stroke, evidence-based guidelines, clinical practice.