The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) is one of the most widely used disability and dependence assessment instruments in rehabilitation medicine. As for other similar scales, the expression of results as a unique score raises an important question. Is it legitimate to consider the object being measured (functional independence) as a unidimensional entity? The answer is of major practical im...

The purpose of this study is to investigate the Fugl-Meyer Motor Impairment Scale and physical disability as measured by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) as predictors of physical independence after stroke inpatient rehabilitation. Forty-eight patients admitted to a rehabilitation hospital within 6 wk of their first unifocal stroke were prospectively studied. Upper and lower extremity ...

Address for correspondence: EJ Roth, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, 345 East Superior St, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA. The Modified Barthel Index (MBI) and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) have been used to provide objective measures of functional status and change of spinal cord injured (SCI) patients. To compare rating scores on the MBI and FIM, the functional abilities of 41 ...

OBJECTIVE When comparing outcomes of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM ) between patient groups, item characteristics of the FIM should be consistent across groups. The purpose of this study was to compare item difficulty of the FIM in 3 patient groups with neurological disorders. SUBJECTS Patients with stroke (n=295), multiple sclerosis (n=150), and traumatic brain injury (n=88). ME...

the traditional event tree analysis uses a single probability to represent each top event. however, it is unrealistic to evaluate the occurrence of each event by using a crisp value without considering the inherent uncertainty and imprecision a state has. the fuzzy set theory is universally applied to deal with this kind of phenomena. the main purpose of this study is to construct an easy metho...

AIMS This study aimed to determine the predictive factors for functional recovery and home discharge in stroke patients receiving in-hospital rehabilitation. METHODS This study included a consecutive series of 174 stroke patients (average age 73.0 ± 10.8) admitted to the convalescent rehabilitation ward at Azumino Red Cross Hospital in Japan after acute rehabilitation. The main outcome measur...

OBJECTIVE In a study published in 2002, it was observed that a variable composed by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and the trunk control test at admission predicted 66.5% of the FIM at discharge in stroke patients. The objective was to confirm the reproducibility of this predictive model. METHODS Retrospective study of 245 hemiparetic stroke inpatients of the rehabilitation departm...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The aim of this study was to verify whether the presence of anosognosia (A) affects the rehabilitative prognosis of hemiplegic subjects with neglect (N). METHODS This study was carried out on 30 patients with left hemiplegia: 15 patients had neglect (group N) and 15 had neglect and anosognosia (group N+A). Mean age was 68.2+/-6.3 in group N (9 men and 6 women) and 72.1+...

The effects of testosterone on functional recovery in stroke patients have not previously been studied. The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of pre-rehabilitation serum testosterone levels on functional recovery in male stroke patients. In total, 111 male stroke patients admitted to our department were enrolled in the study (age: 74 ± 10 years, days from stroke onset: 36 ± 14 d...