| Summary: | Objective: To determine the prevalence and pattern changes of urinary incontinence in the first 3 months after stroke. The correlation between urinary incontinence and cognitive impairment, physical impairment and functional disability were also explored.
Methods: One hundred acute stroke patients who had their first ever stroke without urinary incontinence were recruited. Canadian Neurological Scale, Barthel Index, Thai Mental State Examination, and Urogenital Distress Inventory Short Form were administered 3 times, within 7 days, at 1 and 3 months after stroke.
Results: The prevalence of urinary incontinence within 7 days, at 1 month and 3 months after stroke were 34%, 22.1% and 17%, respectively. The incontinence pattern improved 18% at 1 month and 21 % at 3 months. The main type of incontinence found was urge incontinence. The initially incontinent group at 7 days was significantly more aphasic and dysphagic. Urinary incontinence correlated moderately with physical impairment and functional disability across all the three times of evaluations. There was no correlation between urinary incontinence and cognitive impairment.
Conclusion: Urinary incontinence in acute stroke patients improves over time. Urge incontinence is the major problem in the incontinence group. The stroke patients with urinary incontinence have more physical impairments and disability than those with continence.
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