Functional Rehabilitation of Hemiplegic Patients Following a Stroke at the Yaoundé General Hospital: A Prospective Observational Study

Introduction: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), stroke is a rapid development of localized or global clinical signs of central nervous system dysfunction or deficit of vascular origin, lasting more than 24 hours. Nearly 17.1 million deaths are attributable to cardiovascular disease, which represents 29% of total mortality. Of these deaths, 5.7 million to stroke. More than 82% of deaths occur in middle- and low-income countries and affect both men and women.

Objective: The general objective of this work was to describe the different rehabilitation techniques and to evaluate the response to the rehabilitation of disabled post-stroke patients at the Yaounde General Hospital.

Methodology: Our work focuses on the description of rehabilitation protocols for patients for better socio-professional integration. We worked with 07 male patients. Two main techniques were used: Bobath and exercise training. We assessed 4 parameters in each patient: muscle strength, walking ability, degree of disability and autonomy. At the end of the study, the patients had an improvement in their health status compared to the beginning of their physiotherapy treatment.

Results: The assessment of muscle strength of the upper limb showed that 28.6% on arrival were rated at 1/5, 28.6% at 2/5 and 28.6% at 3/5 and that of the lower limb showed that 28.6% were rated at 1/5, 14.2% at 2/5 and 28.6% at 3/5. At the end of the stay, the results of the muscle strength of the upper limb show that: 0% had 1/5; 33.3% had 2/5; 33.3% had 3/5. For the lower limb, 57.1% had 3/5 and 42.9% had 4/5. The assessment of walking ability showed 42.9% in class 0 and 14.3% in class 6 at the beginning of the care; at the end of the stay, 33.3% were in class 6 and 16.7% in class 7. The evaluation of autonomy shows that at the beginning of the stay, 14.2% of patients had a Barthel score lower than 25/100 and 42.9% had a Barthel score higher than 75/100. At the end of the stay, 16.7% had a Barthel score between 25 and 50/100 and 66.6% were over 75/100. The evaluation of the degree of disability shows that 14.3% had a severe disability and 14.3% no disability, 33.3% had no disability and 16.7% had a moderate disability.

Conclusion: Physical therapy in post-stroke hemiplegics allows improvement and recovery of motor deficits with Bobath techniques and exercise training.