Spasticity after first-ever stroke

Abstract: The prevalence of spasticity after first-ever stroke is approximately 20%, but there are no data on the prevalence of disabling spasticity.The reported prevalence of pain after stroke varies between 19% and 74%, whether pain is associated with spasticity is not known. Until now, there is no health economic analysis of patients with spasticity after stroke.Methods: Two groups of patients were studied.Cohort I was a cross-sectional survey. A representative sample of 140 patients was investigated 1 year after their first-ever stroke. Spasticity was defined as ≥ 1 score on the modified Ashworth scale, disabling spasticity was defined as spasticity having such an impact that intervention, e.g. intensive physiotherapy, orthoses or pharmacological treatment, should be offered. Pain was assesed with the Visual Analogue Scale. All direct costs during one year were identified and converted into Purchasing Power Parities US dollar (PPP$).Cohort II was a prospective cohort study. Forty-nine patients were examined at day 2–10, at one month, and at six months after their first-ever stroke. Assessment and definitions were similar as for cohort I.Results: Spasticity occurs within 1 month and disabling spasticity occur within 6 months.After one year, the prevalence of spasticity was 17% and that of  disabling spasticity 4%. Disabling spasticity was more frequent in the upper extremity. There was an independent effect of severe upper extremity paresis (OR 22, CI 3.9–125) and age below 65 years (OR 9.5, CI 1.5–60).The prevalence of stroke-related pain was 21% after one year. Stroke-related pain was associated with paresis (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.2–7.7), sensory disturbance (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.1–8.9) and depression (OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.4–13), but not with spasticity as an independent variable.The majority of the direct costs for one year (78%) were associated with hospitalization, whereas 20% was associated with municipality services. Only 1% of all direct costs were related to primary health care and 1% to medication. The mean (median, inter-quartile range) direct cost for stroke patients with spasticity was PPP$ 84 195 (72 116, 53 707) compared to PPP$ 21 842 (12 385, 17 484) for stroke patients without spasticity (P < 0.001).