Body Composition and Acute Stroke

A stroke commonly causes weakness and loss of independence. Predicting functional outcomes is a major challenge because it guides rehabilitation care or institutionalization choices. Various factors, including the extent of the initial deficit or the size of the lesion, have been shown to play a role in residual disability after stroke. Premorbid physiological status has been less studied in stroke. However, loss of muscle mass and premorbid strength are prognostic factors for poor short- and medium-term functional recovery. In this work, the body composition of patients in the acute phase of a stroke will be studied to determine whether its alteration is a poor prognostic factor in the short term (discharge from the initial hospitalization) and in the medium term (follow-up visit at 6 months). It will be studied using impedance analysis and morphological measurements on the temporal muscle. In a cohort study of hospitalized patients in the acute phase of a stroke, measurements using a bioimpedance meter (InBody BWA) will be performed to measure a skeletal mass index (SMI) and phase angle. The properties of the temporal muscle (thickness and surface) will also be measured at T1, within 72 first hours after the stroke. Clinical and morphological data will also be collected (weight, height, initial deficit, lesion volume). The aim of the work is to determine whether these body composition factors have an impact on the functional outcome of patients assessed at discharge and 6 months later. Functional assessment will be performed with modified Rankin score (mRS). It is hypothesized that all body composition factors studied will be factors independent of the short- and medium-term functional prognosis.