Interventions for post-stroke disturbances of mood and emotional behaviour: recommendations from SIGN 118

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability. A high proportion of those who survive participate in programmes of rehabilitation. Clinical practice guidelines have come to play an increasingly important role in stroke rehabilitation, providing accessible summaries of the evidence for the management of specific consequences of the condition. Among the most common – and disabling – consequences of stroke are disorders of mood and emotional behaviour. This article reports the development of clinical practice recommendations for poststroke emotional disturbance for the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN). SIGN 118 Management of Patients with Stroke: Rehabilitation, Prevention and Management of Complications and Discharge Planning was published in June 2010. Suggestions are made for ways in which the SIGN 118 recommendations for disorders of mood and emotional behaviour can be implemented in routine clinical practice.