Prevalence of apraxia among patients with a first left hemisphere stroke in rehabilitation centres and nursing homes

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of apraxia in patients with a first left hemisphere stroke. Subjects: Left hemisphere stroke patients staying at an inpatient care unit of a rehabilitation centre or nursing home and receiving occupational therapy (n = 600). Measures: A short questionnaire on general patient characteristics and stroke-related aspects was completed by occupational therapists for every left hemisphere stroke patient they treated. A diagnosis of apraxia or nonapraxia was made in every patient, on the basis of a set of clinical criteria. Results: The prevalence of apraxia among 492 first left hemisphere stroke patients in rehabilitation centres was 28% (96/338) and in nursing homes 37% (57/154). No relationship was found between the prevalence of apraxia and age, gender or type of stroke (haemorrhage or infarct). Conclusions: This study shows that approximately one-third of left hemisphere stroke patients has apraxia.

[1]  J. Ferro,et al.  Lesion size and location in ideomotor apraxia. , 1984, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[2]  E. Renzi,et al.  Ideational apraxia: A quantitative study , 1968 .

[3]  E. Renzi,et al.  Imitating gestures. A quantitative approach to ideomotor apraxia. , 1980, Archives of neurology.

[4]  Eric A. Roy,et al.  Neuropsychological studies of apraxia and related disorders , 1985 .

[5]  H. Spinnler,et al.  Ideomotor apraxia: a study of initial severity , 1987, Acta neurologica Scandinavica.

[6]  Jordan Grafman,et al.  Handbook of Neuropsychology , 1991 .

[7]  C. Luzzatti,et al.  Methods In Neuroanatomical Research And An Experimental Study of Limb Apraxia , 1985 .

[8]  E. Renzi,et al.  Modality-specific and supramodal mechanisms of apraxia. , 1982, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[9]  H. Liepmann Drei Aufsätze aus dem Apraxiegebiet , 1908 .

[10]  C. V. van Heugten,et al.  A diagnostic test for apraxia in stroke patients: internal consistency and diagnostic value. , 1999, The Clinical neuropsychologist.

[11]  K. Heilman,et al.  Apraxia during Wada testing , 1995, Neurology.

[12]  H. Spinnler,et al.  Is ideomotor apraxia the outcome of damage to well-defined regions of the left hemisphere? Neuropsychological study of CAT correlation. , 1980, Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

[13]  E. Renzi,et al.  The Executive And Ideational Components of Apraxia , 1988, Cortex.

[14]  L. Bieliauskas Mediocrity is no standard: searching for self-respect in Clinical Neuropsychology. , 1999, The Clinical neuropsychologist.

[15]  Bjørneby Er,et al.  Acquiring and maintaining self-care skills after stroke. The predictive value of apraxia , 2018, Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine.