***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
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    Input: BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The efficacy of stroke units has been extensively examined . It is unknown , however , whether the superiority of the stroke unit will remain after the increased focus on stroke treatment in general medicine . This study of patients admitted to the hospital early and with a short length of stay determines the effect and identifies certain important components of a stroke unit . METHODS Five hundred fifty patients aged 60 years or older with acute stroke were allocated by a quasi-r and omized design to a stroke unit or a general medical ward based on date of birth in the month . Patients admitted within 24 hours of onset were enrolled . Outcomes after 7 months were death , proportion needing long-term care , and change in neurological and functional state assessed by the Sc and inavian Stroke Scale and Barthel Index . RESULTS Seven months after admission there was a trend in favor of the stroke unit in all outcome measures , but no significant differences in clinical outcomes were found except for change in the Sc and inavian Stroke Scale score . Recurrent stroke during hospitalization occurred more often in the general medical ward ( P = .03 ) . The stroke unit was significantly more aggressive in mobilization out of bed ( P<.01 ) and use of parenteral fluid ( P<.0001 ) , aspirin ( P<.0001 ) , antipyretics ( P<.0001 ) , and antibiotics ( P<.0001 ) . CONCLUSIONS Our study confirms the benefit of the stroke unit , but the effects on the most reliable clinical outcomes were modest and insignificant . Treatment in this stroke unit hastened recovery . More aggressive rehabilitation and use of parenteral fluid , aspirin , antipyretics , and antibiotics appeared in the stroke unit In a r and omized controlled trial we compared the clinical outcome of acute stroke patients , 110 of whom were allocated to treatment in a stroke unit and 110 to treatment in general medical wards .  No significant difference existed between these groups with regard to sex , age , marital status , medical history , or functional impairment on admission . Outcome was measured at 6 and 52 weeks after the stroke by the proportion of patients at home , the proportion of patients in an institution , the mortality , and the functional state . After 6 weeks 56.4 % of the patients r and omized to the stroke unit and 32.7 % of the patients r and omized to the general medical wards were at home ( p = 0.0004 ) , and after 52 weeks 62.7 % and 44.6 % , respectively , were at home ( p = 0.002 ) . After 6 weeks 36.3 % of the patients from the stroke unit and 50.0 % from the general medical wards were in an institution ( p = 0.02 ) ; after 52 weeks 12.7 % and 22.7 % , respectively , were institutionalized ( p = 0.016 ) . After 6 weeks mortality was 7.3 % for the stroke unit group and 17.3 % for the general medical wards group ( p = 0.027 ) . After 52 weeks mortality was 24.6 % for the stroke unit group and 32.7 % for the general medical wards group ( difference not significant ) . Functional state was significantly better for patients treated in the stroke unit after both 6 and 52 weeks . We conclude that care of patients with acute stroke in a stroke unit improves clinical outcome compared with treatment in general medical wards Background and Purpose — Although several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of specialist Stroke Unit ( SU ) care of stroke patients , there is still disagreement over how these units are best organized . We sought to clarify the role of continuous monitoring of physiological parameters in acute ischemic stroke . Methods — We conducted a prospect i ve study of 268 first-ever ischemic stroke patients admitted to our Cerebrovascular Department and allocated , according to the availability of beds , to the SU or Cerebrovascular Unit ( CU ) .  Statistical analysis compared mortality and outcome at discharge , medical and neurological complications , and length of hospitalization in the 2 care setting s. Results — Two hundred sixty-eight patients were enrolled . A good outcome at discharge , observed in 114 SU patients ( 85 % ) and 78 CU patients ( 58 % ) ( odds ratio , 2.63 ; 95 % CI , 1.4 to 4.8 ; P < 0.02 ) , was found , on multivariate analysis , to be significantly related to type of care ( SU versus CU ) . A significantly greater proportion of SU patients showed adverse changes in monitored parameters , which required acute medical treatment ( SU : 64 % ; CU : 19 % ; P < 0.0001 ) . The mean duration of these complications was significantly shorter in the SU patients ( SU : 1.0 day ; CU : 2.4 days ; P < 0.02 ) , and the outcome in patients experiencing complications covered by the monitoring protocol was significantly better in the SU ( 66 % ) than in the CU ( 35 % ) group ( P < 0.0001 ) . Conclusions — Admission of acute stroke patients to a monitoring SU may positively influence their outcome at discharge . Confirmation of our findings in larger trials will indicate the need for a revision of the minimum requirements of SUs , with the addition of monitoring as a new requirement Abstract Hemiplegic patients with an average age of 65 years , were r and omly assigned to a rehabilitation center ( the  control group ) and to a general hospital under the management of a nurse trained in rehabilitation procedures  ( the experimental group ) . Patients with severe impairment and aphasia were excluded . The two groups were similar in age , sex , residence accommodation prior to rehabilitation , duration of disability , degree of proficiency in self-care , intelligence , degree of perceptual motor deterioration , and available ‘ ego energy . ’ Minor differences between the two groups are discusssed in detail with reference to their effect on outcome . Improvement in living arrangements and self-care were effected equally by the rehabilitation team and rehabilitation nurse . In locomotion the experimental group did not do as well as the control group . The rehabilitation nurse demonstrated ability to manage the restorative care of hemiplegic patients , but severe grade s of disability require the rehabilitation center . The problems are discussed in respect to rating functional capacity in disability Background and Purpose — Pathophysiological considerations and observational studies indicate that elevated body temperature , hypoxia , hypotension , and cardiac arrhythmias in the acute phase of ischemic stroke may aggravate brain damage and worsen outcome . Methods — Both units were organized with the same st and ard care and multidisciplinary approach to nursing and rehabilitation . A blinded observer assessed functional outcome at 3 months with the modified Rankin scale ( mRS ) and Barthel Index ( BI ) . End points were ( 1 ) poor outcome , defined as either mRS ≥4 or BI < 60 or the need for institutional care and ( 2 ) mortality . Results — Fifty-four patients meeting the inclusion criteria were r and omized . The groups were well matched for baseline characteristics , stroke subtype , stroke severity , vascular risk factors , and prognostic factors . Poor outcome was seen in 7 ( 25.9 % ) patients in the SCMU group and in 13 ( 48.1 % ) in the SU group ( P = 0.16 ) . Mortality was lower in the SCMU group than in the SU group ( 1 [ 3.7 % ] vs 7 [ 25.9 % ] ; odds ratio , 0.11 [ 95 % CI , 0.02 to 0.96 ] , P = 0.05 ) . Conclusions — This pilot study suggests that admission of acute stroke patients to an SCMU may reduce mortality and poor outcome . A larger trial is required to confirm these findings Of the 373 stroke patients 95 were admitted to the feasibility study of stroke rehabilitation . The patients were divided into two groups , an intensive and a normal treatment group . In this study , the functional recovery of stroke , measured by ADL and motor function was significantly better in the intensive treatment group . There was no difference in institutionalization or incidence of death between the groups . The gain of ADL and motor function was greatest during the first three months after stroke in the intensive treatment group . The conclusion is that intensified physiotherapy seems to improve the functional recovery of stroke patients A r and omized controlled trial was conducted to examine the effects of interdisciplinary team care on acute hospitalized stroke patients . After obtaining baseline information on 42 stroke victims receiving conventional care in a general hospital , 130 stroke patients were stratified and r and omly assigned either to Traditional or Team care . Assessment s by independent evaluators permitted comparisons between Team and Traditional groups with reference to patient survival , motor performance and functional abili- ties . Data obtained prospect ively from charts and treatment logs allowed the care process across groups to be compared . Results demonstrated that Team and Traditional patients fared similarly in survival . How- ever there was an unexpected difference in survival depending upon sex . For motor performance , male survivors performed better with Team care and female survivors with the Traditional method . In terms of functional abilities , male patients receiving Team care again performed better than their Traditional counterparts , whereas in women there was no difference between the treatment groups . Stroke Vol 15 , No 5 , Background and Purpose Assessment of stroke rehabilitation is complicated by the heterogeneity of patients and setting s and by difficulties in disentangling effects of organization from effects of types and amounts of treatment input . Methods A prospect i ve controlled study was undertaken in 245 stroke patients stratified into three groups according to prognosis and managed on a stroke rehabilitation unit ( n=124 ) or general medical wards ( n=121 ) . Patients were r and omly allocated to either setting 2 weeks after stroke and were comparable for baseline characteristics . Results Patients on general medical wards received more physiotherapy  on average ( 16.2 ± 7.2 versus 14.3 ± 3.2 hours ; P < .05 ) but similar amounts of  occupational therapy  ( 9.3 ± 2.8 versus 9.5 ± 3.2 hours ) compared with stroke unit patients . More time was spent on  individual rehabilitation on the stroke unit compared with general wards ( P < .001 ) . Functional abilities at discharge , destination of discharge , and length of hospital stay in patients with good prognosis were comparable in both setting s. Patients with poor prognosis managed on general wards showed higher mortality ( P < .05 ) and longer hospital stay ( 123.2 ± 48.2 versus 52.3 ± 19.8 days ; P < .001 ) , but functional abilities at discharge in survivors were comparable with those of stroke unit patients . Patients with intermediate prognosis had significantly better outcome on the stroke unit , with more patients being discharged home ( 75 % versus 52 % ; P < .001 ) , shorter average length of hospital stay ( 48.7 ± 17.2 versus 104.6 ± 28.6 days ; P < .001 ) , and better functional abilities at discharge ( P < .05 ) . Conclusions Stroke units improve outcome and reduce hospital stay without increasing therapy time . Their effectiveness may be enhanced by patient selection In S.E. Kent , during 1978 and 1979 , 225 patients , representing 228 occurrences of hemiplegia , were referred to a new 20-bed stroke rehabilitation ward .  These patients were r and omly allocated to treatment in the special ward ( group A 112 strokes ) or to remain in conventional treatment locations ( group C 116 strokes ) ; the two groups were closely similar , except for the initial level of consciousness . Survivors were observed at four-month intervals to one year . There are indications of benefit for patients in group A by comparison with Group C in terms of treatment received ( number treated by remedial therapists , the extent of treatment , and the arrangements for after-care ) , and in outcome ( survival and the proportion returned to the community ) . The direction of the trend of advantage is consistent with another recent controlled trial , although not all modes of improvement are identical in the two trials . It is suggested that every health district should develop a comprehensive policy of stroke management Follow-up of a controlled trial of the management of acute stroke in the elderly showed that the improvement in functional outcome at the time of discharge from hospital that had been achieved through establishing a stroke unit had disappeared by one year . Factors that might have contributed to this included overprotection by the families of patients who had been treated in the stroke unit , who were not permitted to carry out activities of daily living in which they were independent , and the early discharge from medical units of patients whose full rehabilitation potential had not been realised . Prolonging the benefits of short-term gains in functional outcome through the intervention of a stroke unit requires that all the links in the chain of stroke rehabilitation are maintained , including the proper orientation of patients ' families before discharge from hospital BACKGROUND Stroke unit is the most effective treatment method to benefit stroke patients . Our study is to evaluate the early effectiveness of a hospital stroke unit ( SU ) . METHODS Three hundred and ninety-two patients who had suffered from acute strokes and who were admitted to our hospital between December 2001 and January 2003 were recruited for this controlled study . All patients were sent at r and om to either the SU or the general ward ( GW ) for treatment . The following indices were measured by : Barthel Index ( BI ) , National Institute of Health Stroke Scale ( NIHSS ) , Oxford H and icap Scale ( OHS ) . RESULTS The mean change in BI score between the day of admission and the day of discharge was 20.00 + /- 24.36 for the SU group and 10.63 + /- 23.59 for the GW group . A difference that is statistically significant ( P = 0.000 ) . The mean change in NIHSS score was -2.01 + /- 6.61 for the SU group and 0.55 + /- 7.44 for the GW group . A difference that is also statistically significant ( P = 0. 
    Output:
    
There were no significant differences in cardiovascular , physiological , or other complications .
CONCLUSIONS Organized inpatient ( stroke unit ) care appears to reduce the risk of death after stroke through the prevention and treatment of complications , in particular infections