Abstract T P127: Look Past the NIHSS! Rehabilitation Metrics that Predict Home Discharge in Ischemic Stroke Patients

Abstract

Introduction: The goals of stroke rehabilitation are to restore functional ability and to return patients' home with a good quality of life. There is a paucity of data on stroke rehabilitation tools that both track improvements and help predict the likelihood of home discharge. Hypothesis: Improvement in functional independence measure (FIM) score increases home discharge rates, decreases acute care readmissions and decreases placement in skilled nursing facilities (SNF). Advanced age and infections such as symptomatic UTI (SUTI) negate FIM score improvement. Methods: We merged the prospectively collected Stroke and Neurorehabilitation Registries at our comprehensive stroke center, identifying ischemic stroke patients admitted between January 2011 and November 2013 (n=367). Demographics, rehabilitation metrics and NIHSS were collected. Age, SUTI, discharge FIM and rehabilitation length of stay (LOS Rehab) were included in the multivariate regression. Results: Of 367 ischemic stroke patients, 273 went home, 47 to a SNF, 25 to acute care and 22 to another facility (i.e.,assisted living, board and care). All patients tolerated 3 hours of daily therapy (PT, OT, SLP). Despite median NIHSS values of 9 in both groups (P=0.356), patients with SUTI had lower FIM scores on admission (49.2 ± 13.9 vs. 56.8±15.2; P<0.0001) and discharge (68.5 ± 16.9 vs. 76.3 ± 17.0; P<0.0001). For a one year age increase, there was a 5% increase in SNF admit (OR 1.05, 95%CI 1.02-1.08; P<0.001) compared to home. For a one unit increase in FIM, there was a 4% decrease in another facility admit (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.93 to 0.99; P<0.01), a 6% decrease in SNF admit (OR 0.94, 95%CI 0.92-0.96; P<0.001) and a 10% decrease in acute care readmit (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.88-0.94; P<0.0001) compared to home. For a one day increase in LOS Rehab, there was a 19% decrease in acute care readmit (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.73-0.89; P<0.0001) compared to home, and a 7% increase in home discharge compared to another facility (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.12; P<0.001). Conclusions: Improved FIM score and increased LOS Rehab were the primary criteria for home discharge after stroke rehabilitation. Advanced age increased the likelihood of SNF placement. SUTI impacted rehabilitation progress, but did not affect discharge to home.