Length of Stay at Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility and Stroke Patient Outcomes

Abstract

Purpose To examine the association of inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) length of stay (LOS) with stroke patient outcomes. Design A secondary data analysis of the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation database. Methods Stroke patients discharged from IRFs in the United States between 2009 and 2011 were identified and divided into mild (n = 639), moderate (n = 2,065), and severely (n = 2,077) impaired groups. Study outcomes included cognition and motor functional gains measured by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) instrument and discharge to the community. Findings The average LOS was 8.9, 13.9, and 22.2 days for mild, moderate, and severely impaired stroke patients, respectively. After controlling for FIM admission and other important covariates, a longer LOS was associated with a modest increase in cognition gain (β = 0.038, p =.0045) for the moderately impaired patients, and a modest increase in cognition (β = 0.13, p