PTOTSLPCohortEuropean journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine2024

The Minimal assessment Protocol for Cerebral Stroke 2020 (PMIC2020): a multicenter feasibility study in post-stroke inpatient rehabilitation.

Francesca Cecchi, Marco Baccini, Alessandro Sodero and 11 others

PMID 39257333

WHAT IT FOUND

The updated stroke assessment protocol took about 27 minutes at admission and 18 minutes at discharge.

It was feasible in eight rehabilitation centers, with less than 10% dropouts. Severe disability predicted longer administration times, but most clinicians rated the tool as good or very good.

Key findings

01The assessment protocol took an average of 27 minutes at admission and 18 minutes at discharge, with no major barriers to completion reported by centers.

02Patients with severe disability required significantly more time for the assessment than those with mild or minimal disability.

03Seven of eight centers rated the tool as good or very good, though three reported organizational issues like lack of time or poor communication about patient admissions.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs

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What it does not show

Patients with severe cognitive impairment or those who could not collaborate were excluded, so the administration times do not reflect the most complex cases. The study measured feasibility and time, not whether the protocol improved patient outcomes or care decisions. Dropout was low, but twelve patients were lost to discharge assessment due to medical complications or unplanned discharge, which may bias the time estimates at discharge. The assessment was performed by trained assessors in research settings, so times may differ in routine clinical practice without that training.

Declared interests

The authors declared no financial conflicts of interest with any organization. Funding was provided by the Italian Ministry of Health as part of current research funding.

The easy way to misread this

Do not interpret the reduced administration time at discharge as evidence that the protocol became easier to administer. The time dropped because patients improved functionally, so fewer items were scored as zero or not applicable, and because history-taking variables were only collected at admission.

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