2 scales/scores for stroke patient : Modified Ranking & NIHSS

1st one is Modified Ranking Score, to assess the functional status of a stroke patient (refer to previous post)

2nd one is NIHSS (National Institute of Heatlh Stroke Scale)

- a 15-item neurologic examination stroke scale used to evaluate the effect of acute cerebral infarction
- valid for predicting lesion size and can serve as a measure of stroke severity.
- to be a predictor of both short and long term outcome of stroke patients.
- serves as a data collection tool for planning patient care and provides a common language for information exchanges among healthcare providers. (comment author : Ya meh, tak dengar pun...)

Summary of what's in this complicated form of NIHSS
- Level of consciousness
- Best Gaze
- Visual
- Facial Palsy
- Motor Arm
- Motor Leg
- Limb Ataxia
- Sensory
- Best language
- Dysarthria
- Extinction and inattention (neglect)

For those who's interested, here's the link to the form
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/doctors/NIH_Stroke_Scale.pdf

Thanks to Dr. Ngiu for asking us this.