Prediction of long-term functional outcome following different rehabilitation pathways after stroke unit discharge.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether referral for different types of rehabilitation on discharge from Swedish stroke units can predict functional outcomes at 1 and 5 years after a stroke. DESIGN: A longitudinal and registry-based study. SUBJECTS/PATIENTS: A total of 5,118 participants with index stroke in 2011 were followed-up at 1 and 5 years after the stroke. METHODS: Ordinal logistic regression models were developed to predict the category of functional outcome: independent, dependent, or dead. The primary predictors were planned rehabilitation in a home setting, inpatient rehabilitation, and outpatient rehabilitation, with no planned rehabilitation as the reference category. RESULTS: Planned outpatient rehabilitation predicted independence (compared with death) at 1 year. Planned rehabilitation in the home setting predicted independence (compared with death) at 1 and 5 years. Compared with other planned pathways, participants planned for inpatient rehabilitation had more severe conditions, and planned inpatient rehabilitation did not predict independence. CONCLUSION: Planning for outpatient or home-based rehabilitation appeared to lead more effectively to participants achieving independence over the course of 1-5 years. This may have been due to the less severe nature of these participants' conditions, compared with those requiring inpatient rehabilitation.

A register-based study comparing planned rehabilitation following acute stroke in 2011 and 2017.

This cross-sectional, register-based study aimed to explore patterns of planned rehabilitation at discharge from stroke units in Sweden in 2011 and 2017 and identify explanatory variables for planned rehabilitation. Multivariable binary logistic regression was used to identify variables that could explain planned rehabilitation. There were 19,158 patients in 2011 and 16,508 patients in 2017 with stroke, included in the study. In 2011, 57% of patients were planned for some form of rehabilitation at discharge from stroke unit, which increased to 72% in 2017 (p < 0.001). Patients with impaired consciousness at admission had increased odds for planned rehabilitation (hemorrhage 2011 OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.13-1.81, 2017 OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.20-2.32), (IS 2011 OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.08-1.34, 2017 OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.28-1.75). Admission to a community hospital (hemorrhage 2011 OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.43-0.74, 2017 OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.27-0.56) (IS 2011 OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.58-0.69, 2017 OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.49-0.61) or to a specialized non-university hospital (hemorrhage 2017 OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.46-0.94), (IS 2011 OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.82-0.98, 2017 OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.68-0.84) was associated with decreased odds of receiving planned rehabilitation compared to admission to a university hospital. As a conclusion severe stroke was associated with increased odds for planned rehabilitation and patients discharged from non-university hospitals had consistently decreased odds for planned rehabilitation.