Evaluation of Recovery of Cognitive Disorders of Patients with Stroke in Occupational Therapy

Abstract

The aim of the research was evaluate cognitive disorders and their dynamics in patients with stroke and to asses the effectiveness of occupational therapy. The sample consisted of 30 patients with stroke, rehabilitated in the Department of Neurorehabilitation of Kaunas University of Medicine Hospital. The average age of the subjects was 65.33 SD ± 13.2 years. During the research we evaluated patients’ cognitive functions, hand grip strength, reaction time and frequency of movements. Conclusions: After the application of individual occupational therapy, the cognitive functions of the patients significantly improved. The average change of cognitive functions estimated with MMSE was 6.4 (± 2.3) scores, and 13.3 (± 10) estimated by NCSE. In the early stage of rehabilitation most affected cognitive areas were as follows: memory (83% of patients suffered from this disorder), constructional abilities (70% of patients) and orientation (57% of patients). At the end of the rehabilitation we estimated significant improvement in all areas of cognitive functioning. The examination showed that before rehabilitation there was a significant difference between the right and the left hemisphere damage, as well as in patients’ movement frequency. After the rehabilitation we estimated a significant change in patients’ reaction time and movement frequency. The results of the research showed that there was significant, moderately strong correlation in patients’ mental state and reaction time after the applied rehabilitation.

Keywords: stroke, rehabilitation, occupational therapy, cognitive disorders, reaction time.