Functional outcomes after home-based rehabilitation for heroin-induced spongiform leukoencephalopathy

A 22-year-old man with a 2-year history of heroin vapor inhalation developed spongiform leukoencephalopathy and underwent clinical and home-based rehabilitative treatments. Activities of daily living were measured using the Functional Independence Measure at discharge and at 6, 12, and 24 months after discharge. His neurological symptoms gradually disappeared with rehabilitative treatment, and the functional scale scores increased from 55 on admission to 105 at 24 months after discharge. These results suggest that home-based rehabilitation was effective in ameliorating the pathology and improving activities of daily living in this patient with heroin-induced spongiform leukoencephalopathy.

The Need and Its Influence Factors for Community-based Rehabilitation Services for Disabled Persons in One District in Beijing

Purpose To explore the needs for basic community-based rehabilitation services for disabled persons in Xuanwu District, Beijing, China, and to identify factors which influence disabled persons to accept rehabilitation services. Method One hundred and eight disabled persons were selected by systematic sampling and simple random sampling to assess their needs for community-based rehabilitation services. Results Of the interviewees, 57A% needed the community-based rehabilitation services, but only 13.9% took advantage of it. The main factors influencing the interviewees to accept these services were cost （P〈0.05）, knowledge about rehabilitation medicine （P〈0.05）; and the belief in the therapeutic benefit of the community-based rehabilitation service （P〈0.05）. Conclusion A considerable gap exists between the supply of community-based rehabilitation services in Beijing and the needs for these services by disabled residents underscoring the need for improved availability, and for additional research.

Investigate Targeted Factors to Achieve Prediction Goal in Stroke Convalescence in Terms of Causal Relationships of Prediction Error

Background and Purpose: To investigate target functional independence measure (FIM) items to achieve the prediction goal in terms of the causal relationships between prognostic prediction error and FIM among stroke patients in the convalescent phase using the structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis. Methods: A total of 2992 stroke patients registered in the Japanese Rehabilitation Database were analyzed retrospectively. The prediction error was calculated based on a prognostic prediction formula proposed in a previous study. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) then the factor was determined using confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA). Finally, multivariate analyses were performed using SEM analysis. Results: The fitted indices of the hypothesized model estimated based on EFA were confirmed by CFA. The factors estimated by EFA were applied, and interpreted as follows: “Transferring (T-factor),” “Dressing (D-factor),” and “Cognitive function (C-factor).” The fit of the structural model based on the three factors and prediction errors was supported by the SEM analysis. The effects of the D- and C-factors yielded similar causal relationships on prediction error. Meanwhile, the effects between the prediction error and the T-factor were low. Observed FIM items were related to their domains in the structural model, except for the dressing of the upper body and memory (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Transfer, which was not heavily considered in the previous prediction formula, was found in causal relationships with prediction error. It is suggested to intervene to transfer together with positive factors to recovery for achieving the prediction goal.