ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to examine the use of assistive devices/orthoses in patients with stroke. The rates of orthotic prescription and abandonment, and the reasons of abandonment were investigated. One hundred and seven stroke patients, who had been rehabilitated in our hospital, were visited by two social service specialists and a questionnaire was applied to all patients. Mean elapsed time after stroke to evaluation time was 48.90±23.49 months. Among subjects, 57.0% were prescribed a tripod or a tetrapod, and 26.2% were given a wheelchair. Overall, 39.3% of patients declared that they were not using their tripod/tetrapod and 28.6% were not using their wheelchair. Concerning upper limb orthoses, 22.4% of patients were given an inhibitor hand splint and 16.8% were given a neutral wrist splint. The abandonment rates were 70.8% and 77.8%, respectively. More than half of those subjects stopped using their orthoses. Regarding lower limb orthoses, 43.0% of patients were prescribed an ankle foot orthosis and 54.3% of them stopped using it. Significant amount of stroke patients seem to stop using their assistive device/orthoses despite their need. Further studies are warranted for better understanding the relevant causes.