Table 1.
Stroke scales and characteristics.
| Tool | Year | No. of test items/ components | Time to administer | Tool format | Score summary | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barthel Index (5, 6) | 1955 | 10 | 5 min | Each task uses different scores from (0, 5, 10, 15) | 0–100; least to great independence | Measurement of functional independence in stroke patients |
| Modified Rankin Scale (5) | 1957 | 6 items | 5 min | 6-Point ordinal scale (0–5); score of 6 added denote death | 0–5; no symptoms to severe disability | Describes the degree of disability in daily activities of people with stroke or other neurological disorder |
| Hunt & Hess Scale (7) | 1968 | 5 | NA | Not weighted | 1–5; minimum to maximum mortality | Prediction of prognosis and outcome in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage |
| Mathew Stroke Scale (8, chap.9) | 1972 | 10 | 15 min | Arbitrarily weighted | 100 point scale; lower scores reflect a more severe deficit | Measurement of stroke severity in clinical trials; designed for study on glycerol therapy |
| Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) (9) | 1974 | 3 components | 2 min | Tasks graded using 4 (1–4), 5 (1–5), and 6 (1–6) point ordinal scale | 3–15; Deep comma to fully awake | Assessment of level of consciousness (LOC) for acute medical and trauma patients |
| Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) (8, chap.9) | 1975 | 5 items | Few seconds | Not weighted | 1–5; dead to a good recovery | Used for categorizing the outcomes of patients after traumatic brain injury |
| Fugl-Meyer assessment scale (10) | 1975 | 28 | 35 min | Ordinal scale | 172 point scale | Used to assess motor and joint functioning, balance, and sensation in stroke patients with hemiplegia |
| Toronto stroke scale (10) | 1976 | 11 categories | NA | NA | 0 to 155 | Used for evaluating acute stroke patients |
| Orgogozo Stroke Scale (8, chap.9) | 1983 | 10 | 10 min | Ordinal scale | 0–100; severe to normal | Used for patients with middle cerebral artery infarction |
| Functional Independence Measurement (FIM) (8, chap.9) (6) | 1984 | 18 | 30-45 min | 7-Point ordinal scale, 1 (requiring complete dependence) to 7 (completely independent) | 18–126; complete dependence to complete independence | Used for assessing a patient's level of disability |
| Canadian Neurological Stroke Scale (CNS) (5, 10, 11) | 1986 | 8 | 5–10 min | Each section uses different scores from (0,0.5,1,1.5, 3) | 1.5–11.5; lower to greater neurological deficit | Evaluation and monitoring of acute-stroke neurological status |
| Hemispheric Stroke Scale (8, chap.9) (10, 12) | 1987 | 20 | 15-30 min | Ordinal scale | 0–100; Good to bad | Assessment of neurological deficit in stroke therapy using hemodilution |
| Modified Mathew Stroke Scale | 1988 | 10 | NA | Ordinal scale | NA | Used in nimodipine and hemodilution studies for acute stroke |
| Copenhagen stroke scale (13, 14) | 1988 | 10 item | <10 min | Ordinal scale; a (normal) to f (worse) and a to d in the revised one | NA | For estimating the initial severity of stroke |
| NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) (15) | 1989 | 15 | 7 min | Each scores between 0 and 4 | 0–42; No stroke symptoms to severe stroke | Measurement of neurological deficit in acute stroke patients |
| Scandinavian Stroke Scale (6, 10, 13) | 1992 | 9 | 5 min | Ordinal scale | 0–58; very severe to mild | Designed for non-neurologists for multicenter hemodilution trials |
| European Stroke Scale (16) | 1994 | 14 | 8 min | Arbitrarily weighted tasks | 0–100; maximally affected to normal | Detection of therapeutic effect and matching of treatment groups for middle cerebral artery stroke |
| Japan stroke scale (15) | NA | 10 | NA | Weighted tasks | NA | Measuring stroke severity |
NA, not available.