In a 8-month period, 39 selected patients with cerebrovascular accidents were studied utilizing computerized tomography of the brain and the Barthel index in an attemt to correlated findings with final functional outcome.

Parameters that were studied included age, sex, lesion size and location and their functional status.

The results of the CT scan were divided into the following major group; deep (involving the basal ganglia, internal capsule and thalamus), superficial large and superficial small (involving the cerebral hemisphere up to and including the external capsule) and normal.

Functional recovery measured by modified Barthel index appeared to be mostly found in those patients with CT scans showing no abnormalities or only small superficial lesions, whereas the patients with large, deep lesions showed poorer outcome.

Thus, results of CT scanning appear to be associated with degree of unctional outcome.