Post-stroke Fatigue: Refining the Concept

Post-stroke fatigue (PSF) is a common yet under-diagnosed and undertreated phenomenon. The unresolved debate over what is PSF has hampered the ability of clinicians to study and develop treatments for this condition. Patients with stroke (n=70) seeking neurorehabilitation at Toronto Rehabilitation...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Giacobbe, Peter
Other Authors: Flint, Alastair
Language:en_ca
Published: 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1807/24570
Description
Summary:Post-stroke fatigue (PSF) is a common yet under-diagnosed and undertreated phenomenon. The unresolved debate over what is PSF has hampered the ability of clinicians to study and develop treatments for this condition. Patients with stroke (n=70) seeking neurorehabilitation at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute completed self-report ratings of fatigue, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and sleepiness. Data were collected from objective measures of stroke topography, sleep disorders, physical fatigability and comorbid medical conditions. A Principal-Components Analysis was performed. Factor 1, the “Distress” factor, was comprised of the all of the self-reported scales i.e. depression, anxiety, fatigue and sleepiness. Factor 2, the “Physical State” factor, was comprised of a diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea, stroke territory and total medical burden. Factor 3, the “Performance” factor, was comprised by the 6 Minute Walk Test. An orthogonal rotation was the most parsimonious fit to the data, suggesting that the three factors are uncorrelated to each other.