Assessing the effects of post-acute rehabilitation services on health care outcomes for people with multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: The impact of post-acute rehabilitative services provided in skilled nursing facilities (SNF) on a particularly vulnerable, disabled subgroup, namely persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), is unknown. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to (1) describe the use of post-acute rehabilitative services in SNFs, and (2) examine the association between the use of physical and occupational therapy (PT/OT) and (a) successful community discharge and (b) functional improvement for PwMS. METHODS: We retrospectively selected PwMS newly admitted to a SNF from the hospital between January 2008 and September 2012. Using the Minimum Data Set (MDS), we examined the receipt of PT/OT and categorized the receipt as high and low intensity PT/OT according to median hours/week. We assessed the association of high vs. low PT/OT with successful discharge to the community and functional improvement using propensity-matched logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 26,412 PwMS had valid OT/PT values in the MDS during the study period, among which 24,410 (92.4%) used PT/OT for some time in the SNF. Median PT/OT use was 9.7 h/week. Use of rehabilitation services was higher in patients with less cognitive and functional impairment. Overall, two-thirds (67.3%) of the propensity matched cohorts for Objective 2a (n = 8204/group) were successfully discharged to community; and one-third (33.6%) of the matched cohort for Objective 2b (n = 6803/group) had improved function. Higher PT/OT therapy was associated with successful discharge [odds ratio (OR) 1.20; 95% CI 1.12-1.28] and functional improvement (OR 1.21; 95% CI 1.13-1.30). CONCLUSION: PwMS used post-acute rehabilitation services at SNFs for a median of ∼10 h/week. Those who used more rehabilitative services in the post-acute care setting were more likely to be successfully discharged to the community and experience functional improvement after adjustment for major confounders.

Emergency Department-Provided Home Blood Pressure Devices Can Help Detect Undiagnosed Hypertension.

INTRODUCTION: Emergency departments (EDs) are critical sites for hypertension (HTN) screening. Home blood pressure (BP) monitoring (HBPM) is used routinely in outpatient settings, yet its utility after the ED visit for those with elevated BP in the ED is unclear. AIM: In this pilot study, we assessed if HBPM could detect HTN in patients with elevated in-ED BP. METHODS: From September 2014 to July 2017, we recruited adult patients at an urban, academic ED with a triage BP ≥ 120/80 mmHg and no history of HTN into this prospective cohort observational study. After their ED visit, participants obtained BP measurements for two weeks using a validated HBPM. HTN was considered probable if the average HBPM BP was ≥ 135/85 mmHg. We calculated the proportion of participants whose ED BP measurement accurately predicted HTN using HBPM after discharge. RESULTS: Of 136 participants enrolled, 93 (68%) returned the HBPM with at least four home BP measurements [mean number of measurements obtained: 29 (SD: 17, range 4-59)]. Participants' median age was 40 years-old (IQR 34-48); 55% were female, 19% were black, and 58% were white. Forty-six percent of participants with elevated in-ED BP had HTN in follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with elevated BP in the ED, HBPM could be valuable for determining which patients have HTN and require expedient follow-up.