LAUSR

Abstract Background The gains in walking capacity achieved during rehabilitation often plateau, or are lost, when the patient returns home. Moreover, maintaining or increasing the patient's daily physical activity level after a stroke remains challenging. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a six-month individualized coaching program at home on walking capacity, as evaluated by the six-minute walk test in subacute stroke patients. Methods Stroke patients in the physical medicine and rehabilitation service participated in a monocentric observer blinded randomized controlled trial with two groups, intervention versus usual care control. The inclusion criteria were: age ≥ 18 years, first ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, and stroke within  Results Eighty-three participants (age: 61y [IQR = 22]; time post-stroke: 2.4 month [IQR = 1.7]; Barthel index: 100[IQR = 5]) were included in the study: (EG, n = 41; CG, n = 42). The difference between the two groups was not significant at T1(418 m [IQR = 165] for the EG and 389 m [IQR = 188] for the CG; P = 0.168) and at T2(425 m [IQR = 121] for the EG vs. 382 m [IQR = 219] for the CG; P = 0.208). Conclusion Our study shows no difference in the six-minute walk test between the two groups of subacute stroke patients after 6 months of the individualized coaching program, combining home visits, feedback on daily performance and weekly telephone calls. http://ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT01822938 ).