Abstract
A series of 80 patients with cerebrovascular accidents below the age of 40 was studied to determine what factors had influenced returning to their premorbid social functions. They were refered to the Central Rehabilitation Service of University of Tokyo Hospital from 1975 to 1984. The possible effects of age, sex, pathological difference between hemorrhage and infarction, affected sides, complication of aphasia or other higher cognitive dysfunctions, severity of hemiplegia, duration from the onset to the first visit to our center, cardiac disease, recurrence of stroke and premorbid occupation or social state were analyzed.
Nineteen of the 35 patients with intracranial hemorrhage and 35 of the 45 patients with cerebral infarction returned to work. Chi-square analysis showed that the outcome of hemorrhagic cases had been significantly worse than that of infarction cases (p<0.05). Significant differences were also noticed in the factors of affected sides and disturbances of higher cognitive functions (p<0.01). And then, multivariate analysis method was undertaken to analyze these factors more accurately. The results revealed that the paresis of right or bilateral sides and the severe hemiplegia had made the outcome worse. With regard to social state, pupils and students had been more likely to return to their school life. Since multiple correlation coefficient from these items was 0.669, that was not sufficient to explain whole factors influencing return to work, further factors should be considered, especially in the nonmedical fields.
