PURPOSE: The aim of our study is to compare the Orpington Prognostic Scale (OPS) 
and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and to evaluate 
whether they help us estimate the future functional status of patients with 
stroke.
METHOD: Twenty-five patients with stroke were administered the OPS and NIHSS on 
the 7th day of stroke in order to define the severity of the disease, and the 
Barthel Index was performed in order to evaluate the functional status and the 
activities of daily living (ADL) at the 1st, 3rd, and 6th months.
RESULTS: Both scales were statistically correlated (P = 0.0001). When the 
predictability of these scales in terms of the ADL and functional status was 
evaluated, the regression coefficient at the 1st month was -14.746, R(2) = 0.58, 
P < 0.0001 and -4.885, R(2) = 0.50, P < 0.0001 for OPS and NIHSS, respectively, 
the same coefficient at the 3rd month was -12.482, R(2) = 0.41, P = 0.001 for 
OPS and -3.280, R(2) = 0.23, P = 0.016 for NIHSS, and at the 6th month it was 
-11.662, R(2) = 0.38, P = 0.001 for OPS and -2.997, R(2) = 0.20, P = 0.02 for 
NIHSS.
CONCLUSION: In patients with stroke, OPS and NIHSS had significant contribution 
to the estimation of the functional status and OPS was more effective than 
NIHSS.