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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Stroke
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1364446

Early poststroke clinically significant fatigue predicts functional independence: a prospective longitudinal study

Provisionally accepted
Alan Juarez-Belaunde Alan Juarez-Belaunde 1Vanesa Soto León Vanesa Soto León 2Michele Dileone Michele Dileone 1Elena Orcajo Elena Orcajo 1Natacha León-Álvarez Natacha León-Álvarez 1Alberto Muñoz Alberto Muñoz 1Jesús Tornero Jesús Tornero 3Antonio Oliviero Antonio Oliviero 3,4*
  • 1 Hospital Los Madroños, Madrid, Madrid, Spain
  • 2 National Paraplegic Hospital, Toledo, Spain
  • 3 Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Hospital Los Madroños, Brunete, Madrid, Spain
  • 4 Fundación del Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, Toledo, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Post-stroke fatigue is a prevalent issue among stroke survivors, significantly impeding functional recovery and diminishing their quality of life.This prospective cohort study aims to investigate the association between post-stroke fatigue and the extent of functional recovery in survivors of ischemic and haemorrhagic strokes. Additionally, it seeks to delineate the temporal progression of post-stroke fatigue in these two stroke subtypes.We assessed a cohort of 79 patients recovering from acute ischemic or haemorrhagic strokes. Post-stroke fatigue was quantified using the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and Numeric Rating Scale (NRSfatigue). Patients' condition was evaluated using the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and functional independence levels were determined using the Barthel Index for Activities of Daily Living (BIADL), and the Modified Rankin Scale (MRS).Depressive mood and pain were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Numeric Rating Scale for pain (NRSpain), respectively.Results: Our primary findings indicate that the early manifestation of clinically significant fatigue (CSF) is predictive of a poorer trajectory in functional independence levels during recovery. Furthermore, we observed differing patterns of fatigue progression between ischemic and haemorrhagic strokes. Fatigue tends to ameliorate over time in haemorrhagic stroke cases, paralleling functional recovery, while it remains stable over time in ischemic stroke cases.Our results underscore the detrimental impact of early post-stroke fatigue on long-term outcomes. Furthermore, they highlight the imperative for managing post-stroke fatigue, particularly during the subacute phase of stroke recovery.

    Keywords: ischemic stroke, haemorrhagic stroke, Fatigue, FSS, NIHSS, Outcome

    Received: 02 Jan 2024; Accepted: 15 May 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Juarez-Belaunde, Soto León, Dileone, Orcajo, León-Álvarez, Muñoz, Tornero and Oliviero. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Antonio Oliviero, Fundación del Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, Toledo, Spain

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