A comprehensive method for determining stress and emotional disorders in stroke patients

Stroke is a social problem, is the leading cause of disability in the population and is often accompanied by emotional disorders, which are often difficult to diagnose. The development of effective methods of objectification of stress and emotional disorders for stroke patients is still very relevant. Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive methodology for determining stress and emotional disorders in stroke patients. Materials and methods. 2 groups of 30 stroke patients, comparable in gender, age and clinical parameters, were studied. Patients in Group 1 received a basic rehabilitation complex (BC) aimed at correcting motor disorders; in Group 2 – BC + a course of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy (CBP). A comprehensive methodology for determining stress and emotional disorders (evaluating indices of subjective comfort and chronic fatigue, situational and personal anxiety, and the degree of emotional distress) was used at the beginning and at the end of rehabilitation. The statistical analysis was carried out using the program Statistica 10. Results. Initially, in patients of both groups, the medians of the studied indicators corresponded to a low level of subjective comfort, severe chronic fatigue, and high levels of situational and personal anxiety. At the end of rehabilitation, significant intergroup differences (p<0.05) were revealed, indicating a statistically significant regression effect of emotional disorders in Group 2 (BC+CBP). Conclusion. The complex technique makes it possible to objectify stress and emotional disorders in patients with acute cerebrovascular accidents, reflects the intergroup difference in their dynamics after the use of BC and its combination with CBP.