Rehabilitation planning in the acute phase after encephalic vascular accident ENDEREÇO

Abstract

The rehabilitation of patients with encephalic injuries is a process that seeks early recovery of the deficits and the preparation for reintegration into community life, with the best possible functional outcome, independence, and quality of life. This study aims to make it known to the Brazilian medical community the key-points referring to the rehabilitation programs specialized in the acute phase of an Encephalic Vascular Accident from the initial event until the transition back to community life. Based on their expertise, the authors made an analysis of 50 articles selected from the MEDLINE and the COCHRANE LIBRARY data bases, utilizing “Stroke” and “Rehabilitation” as descriptors, referring to patients older than 18 years, of both genders, in the period from 1990 to 2008, in the English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish languages More studies will be necessary in the future for the discussion of questions such as: measurements for quality of life, deficiency prognosis, stratification of the patients in relation to their response to rehabilitation, intensity, and duration of medium and long term rehabilitation, and measurements for the quality of rehabilitation services.