Introduction: It is important to initiate physiotherapy services early in acute stage of stroke, which is crucial for motor recovery. With rarely available rehabilitation services in India, it is important to understand the physiotherapy service utilization during the initial hospital stay. 
Objective: The objective of this study was to understand the characteristics of stroke and service utilization pattern of physiotherapy during acute care in a tertiary hospital in southern India.
Methodology:  Retrospective data of patients with stroke admitted under department of neurosciences was collected from December 2016 to December 2017. Stroke survivors, both ischemic and haemorrhagic of either gender were included. Demographic characteristics along with total number of days of hospital stay and the total number of days of physiotherapy services received were recorded and analysed.
Results: The total number of stroke survivors who received physiotherapy was 369 which was 82% of all stroke cases. There were 261 males and 108 females with a mean age of 57.43±13.89 and 62.13±14.35 respectively. There were 223 infarct and 146 haemorrhagic type of stroke.  The average length of stay was 12.32±8.56 with an average of 5.62±5.12 physiotherapy days. Physiotherapy utilization pattern significantly differed between gender, age category and type of stroke. 
Conclusion: Greater incidence of ischemic type of stroke was observed with a higher prevalence in males. Days of physiotherapy received was nearly half of the total hospital stay for the patient. In future, there should be an enhancement of the physiotherapy services to facilitate recovery.

PHYSIOTHERAPY SERVICE UTILIZATION FOR ACUTE STROKE IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN SOUTHERN INDIA