A meta-analysis of the effect of evidence-based nursing for patients with ischemic stroke

Objectives: The efficacy of evidence-based nursing in ischemic stroke patients remains debated. Therefore, this meta-analysis compared the efficacy of evidence-based nursing with that of usual care in terms of quality of life and psychological outcomes after ischemic stroke. Methods: We searched the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus from the inception to 20 February 2025 to identify articles comparing the efficacy of evidence-based nursing with that of usual care among those experiencing ischemic stroke. We used the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB2) to assess the risk of bias. Results: Finally, 10 articles with 1645 participants in the usual care group and 1481 participants in the evidence-based nursing group were included in this meta-analysis. Compared to usual nursing, evidence-based nursing did not significantly change the Barthel index (SMD 0.61, 95% CI (−0.34, 1.55), I2 = 95.79%), SP-36 physical component score (SMD 0.40, 95% CI (−0.52, 1.33), I2 = 98.25%), SP-36 mental component score (SMD 0.39, 95% CI (−0.46, 1.25), I2 = 97.93%), World Health Organization quality of life brief version (WHOQOL-BREF) physical component score (SMD 0.90, 95% CI (−0.90, 2.70), I2 = 98.60%), WHOQOL-BREF mental component score (SMD 0.61, 95% CI (−0.31, 0.52), I2 = 94.81%), and self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) score (SMD −5.78, 95% CI (−15.73, 4.18), I2 = 99.89%), but significantly reduced self-rating depression scale (SDS) score (SMD −1.77, 95% CI (−2.49, −1.05), I2 = 87.00%), highlighting the potential benefits of evidence-based nursing in stroke patients with depressed mood. Conclusion: Among patients with ischemic stroke, evidence-based nursing was not significantly superior to usual nursing in most assessment tests.