Patients
acute stroke, comprehension difficulties, Stroke
ACUTE STROKE, STROKE
The target population of this study comprises acute stroke patients with predominantly motor deficits of the upper extremity, who are able to understand and assess the dimension of the study adequately in order to provide informed consent.In case the study participant is unable to write legibly, but can understand the patient information, the following procedure will be followed: If the study participant is able to speak, oral instead of written consent will be given in the presence of at least one independent witness who was also involved in informing the study participant. The consent given orally will be documented in writing, dated, and signed by the witness. In case the study participant is unable to articulate, the capacity to consent is additionally checked and confirmed by an independent physician. An independent physician will determine the ability of the study participant to give informed consent, based on the following reproducible parameters. These parameters correspond to the score from listed National Institute of Health Stroke Score (NIHSS) items (1. level of consciousness, 2. orientation, 3. following commands, 4. language/aphasia). If the study participant is unable to speak and scores > 1 in at least one subscale of those NIHSS items, the consent cannot be given and the patient cannot participate in the study. Patients with comprehension difficulties who are mentally unable to fully comprehend the consent process are also not allowed to participate in the study.