Poster 27: Acute rehabilitation: comparison of functional outcomes of liver transplant and stroke patients

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the functional outcomes of liver transplant patients with acute rehabilitation and to compare outcomes with those of stroke patients. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Acute rehabilitation unit in a university hospital. Participants: Inpatient charts of 13 liver transplant patients and 13 stroke patients were reviewed. Interventions: The charts of 13 patients who underwent inpatient rehabilitation after liver transplants were reviewed to assess their functional gains. Their functional progress was measured on the FIM™ instrument at admission, weekly, and at discharge. Progress was compared with 13 age-matched stroke patients. Main Outcome Measures: FIM efficiency ratio of liver transplant patients was obtained by dividing the total FIM gain by the length of stay (LOS). This ratio was compared with that of the stroke patients. Results: The average age of the liver transplant patients was 56 years and that of the stroke patients was 55 years. The average admission FIM scores for transplant patients was 50 and discharge FIM scores was 76, compared with 51 and 72, respectively, for the stroke patients. The average LOS of the transplant patients was 20 days; it was 21 days for the stroke patients. The efficiency ratio was 1.35 for transplant patients and 1.33 for the stroke patients. The Student t test, with 24 degrees of freedom, showed no statistically significant differences between the liver transplant and stroke patients for their average admission and discharge FIM scores and efficiency ratios. There was also no significant difference in the average LOS. Conclusion: Patients with liver transplants made functional gains similar to those of stroke patients of similar age.