Evaluation of Respiratory Muscle Strength in the Acute Phase of Stroke: The Role of Aging and Anthropometric Variables

Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-11T17:12:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2017-10-01 Background During hospitalization, stroke patients are bedridden due to neurologic impairment, leading to loss of muscle mass, weakness, and functional limitation. There have been few studies examining respiratory muscle strength (RMS) in the acute phase of stroke. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the RMS of patients with acute stroke compared with predicted values and to relate this to anthropometric variables, risk factors, and neurologic severity. Methods This is a cross-sectional study in the acute phase of stroke. After admission, RMS was evaluated by maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP); anthropometric data were collected; and neurologic severity was evaluated by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale. The analysis of MIP and MEP with predicted values was performed by chi-square test, and the relationship between anthropometric variables, risk factors, and neurologic severity was determined through multiple linear regression followed by residue analysis by the Shapiro-Wilk test; P