Effectiveness evaluation of rehabilitation for patients with post-stroke depression

Objective To analyze the therapeutic effect of rehabilitation intervention for patients with post-stroke depression. Methods Sixty patients with post-stroke depression were divided randomly into a rehabilitation group(n=30) and a control group(n=30). Those in the former group were intervened with comprehensive rehabilitation programs (mainly the exercise and psychotherapy), while those in the later group only the ordinary medical drugs. 3～6 months later, therapeutic effect was assessed according to the recorded Barthel index and the HAMD scores, and a comparison was carried out between the two groups. Results In comparison with the control group, the therapeutic effect was significantly better in the rehabilitation group, as shown by significant increase of Barthel index scores at 3 months (P0.001) and 6 months(P0.01), and a significant decrease of HAMD scores(P 0.05 ). Conclusion Patients with post-stroke depression can obviously benefited from comprehensive rehabilitation, as shown by the improved ADL abilities and lowered level of depression.