Post-discharge Rehabilitation Research Articles

Post-operative complications in elderly patients undergoing hip fracture surgery: An observational study

Background: Hip fractures in elderly patients are a significant health-care concern due to their high morbidity and mortality rates. Aims and Objectives: This study aims to analyze post-operative complications in this demographic to improve care strategies. Materials and Methods: This observational study included 100 patients aged between 65 and 90 years, undergoing hip fracture surgery. The cohort comprised 40% males and 60% females. Patients underwent either total hip replacement (30%) or internal fixation (70%). We tracked post-operative complications within the first 30 days, mortality and reoperation rates, and recovery and rehabilitation outcomes over 6 months. Results: Post-operative complications were reported in several categories: Infection (10%), cardiovascular (15%), respiratory (12%), renal (5%), neurological (8%), and gastrointestinal (6%). The most common infections were superficial wound infections (6%) and deep infections (4%). Cardiovascular complications included arrhythmias (8%), myocardial infarction (4%), and venous thromboembolism (3%). Pneumonia (7%), acute respiratory distress syndrome (3%), and pulmonary embolism (2%) were the primary respiratory complications. The study also recorded a 4% 30-day mortality rate and a 7% reoperation rate. The average hospital stay was 7 days, with 60% of patients requiring post-discharge rehabilitation. At 6-month post-surgery, 70% of patients had achieved complete recovery. Conclusion: The study highlights a significant incidence of post-operative complications among elderly patients undergoing hip fracture surgery. The findings underscore the need for comprehensive perioperative care and vigilant monitoring to mitigate these risks. The data also stress the importance of post-discharge rehabilitation in enhancing recovery outcomes.

Evaluation of Mobile Health Technology Interventions for the Postdischarge Management of Patients With Head and Neck Cancer: Scoping Review.

Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) often experience various types and degrees of complications and functional impairment following surgery or radiotherapy. Consequently, these patients require extensive postdischarge rehabilitation, either at home or in the community. Numerous studies have shown the advantages of mobile Health (mHealth) technology in assisting patients with cancer with self-management and rehabilitation during the postdischarge period. However, few reviews have focused on the intervention, management, and evaluation of mHealth technology in postdischarge patients with HNC. This study aimed to conduct a scoping review of mHealth technology apps and interventions currently available to patients discharged from hospitals after receiving treatment for HNC. This study sought to identify and summarize the types and effectiveness of existing mHealth interventions as well as the differences in their outcome assessments. The PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and CINAHL databases were used to identify studies with no publication time limits. The keywords "mobile health technology" and "head and neck cancer" were combined to address the main concepts of the research questions. Of the 1625 papers identified, 13 (0.8%) met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Most studies (n=8, 61.5%) were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies. These studies were conducted in 6 countries. The main aims of the mHealth interventions in these studies are as follows: (1) symptom monitoring and assessment, (2) rehabilitation training, (3) access to medical health information, (4) telehealth advisers, (5) peer communication and support, and (6) follow-up/review reminders. The outcome evaluations of the 13 included studies were grouped into 4 categories: (1) technology usability and patient satisfaction, (2) self-management of symptoms and patient-reported outcome-related indicators, (3) adherence, and (4) health-related quality of life. A limited number of studies have investigated the use of mHealth technology in the postdischarge self-management of patients with HNC. The existing literature suggests that mHealth technology can effectively assist patients with HNC in self-management and postdischarge interventions. It plays an important role in addressing patients' health information needs, reducing both their somatic and psychological burdens, and improving their overall quality of life. Future research should prioritize conducting additional high-quality RCTs to evaluate the usability and analyze the cost-effectiveness of mHealth technology.

Nutrition education programs for burn survivors: A scoping review.

Background: Despite the importance of nutrition education for burn survivors, only limited work has been done to ascertain what is known about these education programs. Aim: To scope the existing literature to ascertain what is known about the nature and outcomes associated with nutrition education programs for burn survivors, their families and caregivers. Methods: Arksey and O'Malley scoping review approach were utilized with searches across peer-reviewed databases and gray literature sources. Results: Six studies were retained. Five studies focused on burn survivors and one focused on healthcare professionals. One study reported improved knowledge regarding postburn nutritional support following the implementation of the nutrition counseling program. Three studies reported on the inclusion of a nutrition education component in comprehensive postdischarge rehabilitation programs albeit no nutrition-specific outcomes were reported. Conclusion: The review affirms the limited literature, highlighting a need for more work to implement and evaluate outcomes of nutrition education programs for burn survivors.

Psychosocial patient perspectives following major lower-limb amputation due to vascular aetiology: a protocol for a systematic meta-aggregation study

IntroductionPersistent psychosocial problems in people with lower-limb amputation due to vascular aetiology indicate a great need for long-lasting holistic rehabilitation. An in-depth understanding of the psychosocial problems is essential for...

Prevalence and risk factors of post-stroke pain in a Malaysian stroke centre: A cross sectional study

Background & Objectives: Post-stroke pain (PSP) is a common complication that is often overlooked. It leads to depression, impaired quality of life (QoL) and increased economic burden. In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of PSP in a Malaysian stroke centre. Methods: This is a single-centered, cross-sectional study of 175 post-stroke patients attending the neurology clinic. Their demographic data and clinical variables were collected. They were interviewed using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Barthel Score (BI) and EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) questionnaires. Results: The prevalence of PSP was 26.3%, with most of them aged 51-70 years (52.2%). The types of pain included headache (30.4%), pain secondary to spasticity (32.6%), central post-stroke pain (26.1%) and shoulder joint pain (19.6%), in which they first experienced the pain between a week to three months post-index stroke. Our study showed that a high NIHSS, prolonged hospital stay for index stroke, poor modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and no post-discharge rehabilitation increased the probability of developing PSP. This resulted in depression, regression of functional status and poor QoL. There was no correlation between older age, gender, ethnicity, and pre-existing medical conditions with the development of PSP. Conclusion: PSP should be diligently screened and treated in every stroke survivor to improve quality of life.

Effectiveness of self-management interventions during the peri-hospitalization period in patients with stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To synthesize the evidence of the effectiveness of self-management interventions during the peri-hospitalization period. Data sources Three databases (i.e. PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus) were systematically searched. Review methods Full-text randomized controlled studies that assessed the effects of self-management interventions initiated during the peri-hospitalization period in patients with stroke were included. Two independent reviewers performed data extraction. A third reviewer was available for discrepancies. The methodological quality was evaluated using version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB-2). Data were pooled and a meta-analysis was performed. Results Eight studies comprising 1030 participants were included. The self-management interventions showed considerable heterogeneity in their protocols, although most of them included an individualized plan based on the patient's needs. The meta-analysis was performed with data from the self-efficacy domains. The pooled results showed a trend towards the self-management intervention on quality of life (1.07, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.52 to 1.63; P = 0.0002) but neither in dependence (0.80, 95% CI −0.14 to 1.74; P = 0.10) nor in self-efficacy (0.77, 95% CI −0.44 to 1.98; P = 0.21). Conclusion Most of the studies reviewed suggest that self-management interventions had an impact on dependency, quality of life and self-efficacy when compared with usual care, written materials about stroke, or post-discharge rehabilitation recommended by a physician. However, the evidence in this review neither supports nor refutes self-management interventions used in addition to usual care, or other interventions, to improve dependency, quality of life and/or self-efficacy in patients’ post-stroke.

Supporting patients and families following an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: Developing a multidisciplinary care pathway and the role of neuropsychology

This article outlines the current guidelines and recommendations for pre- and post-discharge care and rehabilitation of survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and their families. Although many OHCA survivors make an overall good physical and neurological recovery, many others experience a combination of cognitive decline, emotional problems, fatigue and difficulties in reintegrating in the community and in the workplace. Current pathways of care in the UK are not well suited in identifying and addressing these issues. Neuropsychologists, in particular, are rarely involved in the care of these often-complex patients who fall on the boundaries of neurology, cardiology and critical care.In this article we summarise the current best practice in the development of a pathway of care and rehabilitation for OHCA survivors in the UK. The role of Neuropsychology is discussed, and clinics are invited to collaborate in the development and evaluation of this pathway of care.

Are hip fracture patients with high or low body mass index at higher risk of missed care? A cohort study.

To examine whether patients' body mass index is associated with missed hip fracture care consistent with national guideline-recommended care. A nationwide, population-based cohort study using prospectively collected data from the Danish Multidisciplinary Hip Fracture Registry. The study population consisted of 39,835 patients ≥65 years admitted with a hip fracture and discharged between 1st of January 2012 and 29th of November 2017. National guideline-recommended care consists of preoperative optimization, early surgery, mobilization within 24 h, basic mobility assessment, nutrition screening, post-discharge rehabilitation program, and osteoporotic and fall prophylaxis. We used binomial regression to estimate the relative risk for the fulfilment of the individual measures with 95% confidence interval. Multiple imputation method was applied to handle missing values of body mass index. The overall fulfilment of the individual measures ranged from 43% for pre-operative optimization to 95% for receiving a post-discharge rehabilitation program. The obese patients had a lower fulfilment of surgery within 36 h compared to patients with normal weight. No differences in fulfilment of the other measures were found. However, patients with missing data on body mass index had the highest risk of missed care. In conclusion, patients with missing BMI values had the highest risk of missed care. The obese patients had a slightly higher risk of long waiting times for surgery than normal-weighted patients. This study was done based on population-based data from medical registries and data was analysed by the authors only.

Outcome in TBI Patients with Early Physiotherapy and Post-discharge Rehabilitation: Indian Experience

Abstract Introduction Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability worldwide and early initiation of physiotherapy with continuing rehabilitation may improve outcomes. Methods All adult TBI patients with GCS 5–12 admitted from May 2018 to December 2019 were included. Early physiotherapy was initiated before the fifth day of admission and continued post discharge. Patients and families were educated in a rehabilitation program with printed handouts and video clips. All patients are followed up via telephone/video calls after discharge. We assessed the Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS) and disability at 15, 30, and 90 days post discharge, and 180 days follow-up was also suggested but only a few (38) patients reported. Data were compared with matched patients treated in previous years. Results A total of 1,233 patients were studied. At 3-month follow-up by telephonic and video calls, GOS 5 was noted (63.7%; 174/ 273) in 2019 compared with (41.3%; 41/ 98) in 2018. The number of discharges increased after initiation of physiotherapy and rehabilitation programs (38%; 288/759 in 2019 versus 24%; 115/474 in 2018). Post-discharge deaths were also less (5.9%; 17/288) in 2019 compared with (14.8%; 17/115) in 2018. Conclusion Early rehabilitation and post-discharge therapy are associated with improved outcomes of TBI patients. Refinements in data collection and communication improve patient follow-up and functional outcomes.

Exemplary post-discharge stroke rehabilitation programs: A multiple case study

Objective The objective of this study was to identify essential aspects of exemplary post-discharge stroke rehabilitation as perceived by patients, care partners, rehabilitation providers, and administrators. Design We carried out an exploratory qualitative, multiple case study. Stroke network representatives from four regions of the province of Ontario, Canada each nominated one post-discharge rehabilitation program they felt was exemplary. Setting The programs included: a mixed home- and clinic-based service; a home-based service; a clinic-based service with a stroke community navigator and; an out-patient clinic-based service. Participants Participants included 32 patients, 16 of their care partners, 23 providers, and 5 administrators. Methods We carried out semi-structured qualitative interviews with patients and care partners, focus groups with providers, and semi-structured interviews with administrators. Health records of patient participants were reviewed. Using an interpretivist-informed inductive content analysis, we developed overarching categories and subcategories first for each program and then across programs. Results Across four regions with differing types of programs, exemplary care was characterized by three essential components: stroke and stroke rehabilitation knowledge, relationship built through personalized respectful care, and a commitment to high quality, person-centered care. Conclusion Exemplary post-discharge care included knowledge regarding identification and treatment of stroke-related impairment, that is, information found in best practice guidelines. However, expertise related to building relationship through providing personalized respectful care, within a mutually supportive, improvement-oriented team was also essential. Additionally, administrators played a crucial role in ensuring continued ability to deliver exemplary care.

Influence of socioeconomic factors on discharge disposition following traumatic cervicothoracic spinal cord injury at level I and II trauma centers in the United States

BackgroundDischarge to acute rehabilitation is strongly correlated with functional recovery after traumatic injury, including spinal cord injury (SCI). However, services such as acute care rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) are expensive. Our objective was to understand if high-cost, resource-intensive post-discharge rehabilitation or alternative care facilities are utilized at disparate rates across socioeconomic groups after SCI. MethodsWe performed a cohort analysis using the National Trauma Data Bank® tabulated from 2012-2016. Eligible patients had a diagnosis of cervical or thoracic spine fracture with spinal cord injury (SCI) and were treated surgically. We evaluated associations of sociodemographic and psychosocial variables with non-home discharge (e.g., discharge to SNF, other healthcare facility, or intermediate care facility) via multivariable logistic regression while correcting for injury severity and hospital characteristics. ResultsWe identified 3933 eligible patients. Patients who were older, male (OR=1.29 95% Confidence Interval [1.07-1.56], p=.007), insured by Medicare (OR=1.45 [1.08-1.96], p=.015), diagnosed with a major psychiatric disorder (OR=1.40 [1.03-1.90], p=.034), had a higher Injury Severity Score (OR=5.21 [2.96-9.18], p<.001) or a lower Glasgow Coma Score (3–8 points, OR=2.78 [1.81-4.27], p<.001) had a higher chance of a non-home discharge. The only sociodemographic variable associated with lower likelihood of utilizing additional healthcare facilities following discharge was uninsured status (OR=0.47 [0.37-0.60], p<.001). ConclusionsUninsured patients are less likely to be discharged to acute rehabilitation or alternative healthcare facilities following surgical management of SCI. High out-of-pocket costs for uninsured patients in the United States may deter utilization of these services.

British Cardiovascular Intervention Society Consensus Position Statement on Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest 2: Post-discharge Rehabilitation.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a major public health issue that poses significant challenges both in immediate management and long-term follow-up. Survivors of OHCA often experience a combination of complex medical, physical and psychological needs that have a significant impact on quality of life. Guidelines suggest a multi-dimensional follow-up to address both physical and non-physical domains for survivors. However, it is likely that there is substantial unwarranted variation in provision of services throughout the UK. Currently, there is no nationally agreed model for the follow-up of OHCA survivors and there is an urgent need for a set of standards and guidelines in order to ensure equal access for all. Accordingly, the British Cardiovascular Interventional Society established a multi-disciplinary working group to develop a position statement that summarises the most up-to-date evidence and provides guidance on essential and desirable services for a dedicated follow-up pathway for survivors of OHCA.

Early Exercise-Based Rehabilitation for Patients with Acute Decompensated Heart Failure: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation is an important part of the therapeutic regimen for chronic heart failure. Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) in hospitalized patients were usually excluded from cardiac rehabilitation programs. The initiation of cardiac rehabilitation with ADHF usually occurs after hospital discharge. This study included recent clinical trials in patients beginning early exercise-based rehabilitation during their hospitalization and compared the efficacy and safety of early cardiac rehabilitation to ADHF patients who didn’t receive cardiac rehabilitation. Methods: Clinical trials were searched from the EMBASE, PubMed, CENTRAL, and WAN FANG. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which early exercise-based rehabilitation started during the index hospitalization, from the establishment of the database to July 2022. RevMan 5.4 was used for the statistical analysis. Results: Six studies, with a total of 668 patients were included; 336 patients in the early rehabilitation group and 332 patients in the control group. Exercise capacity was significantly improved in the 6-minute walk distance [mean difference (MD): 32.97, 95% CI: 31.03 to 34.90, p &lt; 0.00001], and the Short Physical Performance Battery (MD: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.35 to 1.44, p &lt; 0.00001). The rate of all-cause rehospitalization was significantly decreased in the early rehabilitation group (OR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.45 to 0.99, p = 0.04). Conclusions: Early exercise-based rehabilitation for eligible ADHF in-patients starting during, or early after, hospitalization could significantly improve exercise capacity. A transitional, individualized, progressive, exercise-based rehabilitation program during hospitalization combined with post-discharge clinic rehabilitation is an integrated rehabilitation strategy for acute decompensated heart failure.

Unmet needs in long-term outpatient rehabilitative care: a qualitative and multi-perspective study in Japan

Purpose This study explores the experiences and unmet needs related to post-discharge long-term rehabilitation from triadic perspective of male patients with stroke, caregivers, and rehabilitation professionals. Methods This is an exploratory qualitative study using in-depth interviews conducted in two outpatient rehabilitation facilities in Japan. Nine male patients with stroke, ten caregivers, and five rehabilitation professionals participated in this study. The data were coded, followed by thematic analysis. Results Patients who did not achieve further physical recovery regardless of their efforts experienced a loss of motivation and lost sight of their goals. Moreover, caregivers regarded such patients as lazy and reported feeling frustrated with them. Furthermore, patients and caregivers had unmet needs regarding communication with professionals and psychological and emotional care. In contrast, professionals perceived time constraints on outpatient rehabilitation service provision and sometimes narrowed the scope of the care approach to physical function aspects for providing services efficiently. They also expressed difficulties in identifying patients’ needs, values, and meaningful goals. Conclusions These findings suggest that in Japanese post-stroke outpatient rehabilitation, there is a need to adopt a comprehensive care approach, enhance the quality of communication, and involve caregivers in the rehabilitation process in limited-resource situations. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION In long-term outpatient rehabilitation services in the community, stroke patients and their caregivers often face a physical recovery plateau. A comprehensive approach such as enhancing the quality of communication and providing psychological and emotional care —other than physical rehabilitation— is needed, particularly once the patient physical recovery stagnates. Involving caregivers in the rehabilitation process may be helpful for rehabilitation professionals to understand a potential problem that the patient cannot express but the caregiver can. It can be crucial to develop strategies that enable the rehabilitation professionals to provide a comprehensive care approach and prevent too much reliance on physical rehabilitation under the time-constraint situation in outpatient rehabilitation services.

The contribution of functional cognition screening during acute illness hospitalization of older adults in predicting participation in daily life after discharge

BackgroundCognitive assessment in acutely hospitalized older adults is mainly limited to neuropsychological screening measures of global cognition. Performance-based assessments of functional cognition better indicate functioning in real-life situations. However, their predictive validity has been less studied in acute hospital settings. The aim of this study was to explore the unique contribution of functional cognition screening during acute illness hospitalization in predicting participation of older adults one and three months after discharge beyond traditional neuropsychological measures.MethodsThis prospective longitudinal study included 84 older adults ≥ 65 years hospitalized in internal medicine wards due to acute illness, followed by home visits at one month and telephone interviews at three months (n = 77). Participation in instrumental activities of daily living, social and leisure activities was measured by the Activity Card Sort. In-hospital factors included cognitive status (telephone version of the Mini-Mental State Examination, Color Trails Test), functional cognition screening (medication sorting task from the alternative Executive Function Performance Test), emotional status (Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale), functional decline during hospitalization (modified Barthel index), length of hospital stay, the severity of the acute illness, symptoms severity and comorbidities.ResultsFunctional cognition outperformed the neuropsychological measures in predicting participation declines in a sample of relatively high-functioning older adults. According to a hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis, the overall model explained 28.4% of the variance in participation after one month and 19.5% after three months. Age and gender explained 18.6% of the variance after one month and 13.5% after three months. The medication sorting task explained an additional 5.5% of the variance of participation after one month and 5.1% after three months, beyond age and gender. Length of stay and the Color Trails Test were not significant contributors to the change in participation.ConclusionsBy incorporating functional cognition into acute settings, healthcare professionals would be able to better detect older adults with mild executive dysfunctions who are at risk for participation declines. Early identification of executive dysfunctions can improve continuity of care and planning of tailored post-discharge rehabilitation services, especially for high-functioning older adults, a mostly overlooked population in acute settings. The results support the use of functional cognition screening measure of medication management ability in acute settings.

Protocol for the development of a clinical practice guideline for discharge planning of stroke patients.

BackgroundA standardized discharge plan is important to continuous medical care and discharge management of stroke patients. Currently, there is a lack of high-quality, evidence-based discharge planning guidelines for stroke patients. Most existing discharge planning guidelines have been developed for other diseases and stroke-related guidelines focus more on prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation and less on discharge planning. Therefore, they do not provide a systematic and comprehensive answer to the key issues of discharge planning for stroke patients. To improve the level of recovery and quality of life of stroke patients, to better guide clinical caregivers in developing and implementing discharge plans, the Evidence-based Nursing Center of West China Hospital, Sichuan University and the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Guideline Implementation and Knowledge Translation have jointly initiated the development of the clinical practice guideline for discharge planning of patients with stroke.MethodsThe guideline development process is designed to follow the WHO handbook for guideline development and Guidelines 2.0. Evidence grading and guideline recommendations are based on the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE). The key steps in developing the guideline include: (I) establishing the guideline working groups; (II) selecting the priority clinical questions; (III) evidence retrieval and evaluation; (IV) grading the quality of evidence; (V) forming recommendations; and (VI) external review.DiscussionThis guideline will follow the clinical characteristics and management priorities of stroke and will be developed by a multidisciplinary guideline development team, in strict accordance with the core principles and methods of guideline development. This guideline will provide an evidence-based reference for standardized discharge screening, assessment, discharge procedures, and outpatient follow up, so as to improve the quality of discharge services and standardize the discharge management of stroke patients, and ultimately improve their post-discharge rehabilitation and quality of life.Trial RegistrationThe guideline was registered at the Practice guidelines REgistration for transPAREncy. The registration No. is IPGRP-2022CN331.

Development of a Risk Score to Predict Post-Discharge Rehabilitation Care After Liver Metastasectomy

IntroductionNeed for discharge to intermediate care (DCIC) can increase length of stay and be a source of stress to patients. Estimating risk of DCIC would allow earlier involvement of case managers, improve length of stay and patient satisfaction by setting realistic expectations. The aim was to use National Surgical Quality Improvement Program dataset to develop a prediction model for DCIC after undergoing liver metastasectomy. MethodsData were obtained from National Surgical Quality Improvement Program 2011-2018 covering liver metastasectomy. Recursive partitioning narrowed potential predictors and identified thresholds for categorization of continuous variables. Logistic regression identified a predictive model, internally validated by using 200 bootstrap samples with replacement. A risk score was derived using Framingham Study methodology by dividing all regression coefficients by the smallest model coefficient. Receiver operating characteristic analysis identified the score that maximized sensitivity/specificity, defining low/high risk. Finally, recursive partitioning identified categories low/medium/high. ResultsThe most parsimonious model predicting DCIC area under the curve (, 0.722, 95%CI: 0.705-0.739) identified five independent predictors including age >60, procedure type, hypertension requiring medication, albumin <3.5 mg/dL and hematocrit <30%. Internal validation resulted in expected bias-corrected area under the curve of 0.717, 95% CI: 0.698-0.732. The maximum score was 17.9 and 5.8 maximized sensitivity (sn) and specificity (sp) [sn = 81%, sp = 51%) predicting DCIC. Stratified into three groups, a score ≥9.5 identified highest risk (12.8%), ≥4.3 medium (6.1%) and <4.3 lowest risk (1.5%). ConclusionsDetermining risk of DCIC benefits shared decision making and patient care. This evidence may enhance discharge planning after liver metastasectomy expediting the process. Age >60 contributed the most weight to the score, but the use of additional variables in three groups allowed further discrimination between patients.

Post-discharge rehabilitation and functional recovery after pediatric injury

IntroductionVariability in rehabilitation disposition has been proposed as a trauma center quality metric. Benchmarking rehabilitation disposition is limited by a lack of objective measures of functional impairment at discharge. The primary aim of this study was to determine the relative contribution of patient characteristics and hospitalization factors associated with inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation after discharge. The secondary aims were to evaluate the sensitivity of the Functional Status Scale (FSS) score for identifying functional impairments at hospital discharge and track post-discharge recovery. Patients and methodsWe report a planned secondary analysis of a prospective observational study of seriously injured children (<15 years old) enrolled at seven pediatric trauma centers. Functional Status Scale (FSS) score was measured for pre-injury, hospital discharge, and 6-month follow-up timepoints. Multinomial logistic regression identified factors associated with three dispositions: home without rehabilitation services, home with outpatient rehabilitation, and inpatient rehabilitation. Relative weight analysis was used to identify the impact of individual factors associated with inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation disposition. ResultsWe analyzed 427 children with serious injuries. Functional impairment at discharge was present in 103 (24.1%) children, including 43/337 (12.8%) discharged without services, 12/38 (31.6%) discharged with outpatient rehabilitation, and 44/47 (93.6%) discharged to inpatient rehabilitation. In multivariable modeling, variables most contributing to prediction of inpatient rehabilitation were severe initial Glasgow coma scale (GCS), injured body region, and functional impairment at discharge. Severe initial GCS, private insurance, and extremity injury were independently associated with disposition with outpatient rehabilitation. Patients discharged without services or with outpatient rehabilitation most frequently had motor impairments that improved during the next 6 months. Patients discharged to inpatient rehabilitation had impairments in all domains, with many improving within 6 months. A higher proportion of patients discharged to inpatient rehabilitation had residual impairments at follow-up. ConclusionInjury characteristics and discharge impairment were associated with discharge to inpatient rehabilitation. The FSS score identified impairments needing inpatient rehabilitation and characterized improvements after discharge. Less severe impairments needing outpatient rehabilitation were not identified by the FSS score.

Effects of a WeChat-based individualized post-discharge rehabilitation program on patients with lumbar fusion surgery.

Exercise training after lumbar fusion surgery (LFS) is important for regaining the strength in the spinal muscles, pain management, and minimizing dysfunction. It may be prudent to evaluate technologies such as web-based chat and social media apps for increasing the efficacy of post-surgery interventions in LFS patients. To explore the effectiveness of a WeChat-based individualized post-discharge rehabilitation program in patients with LFS. Seventy-two eligible discharged LFS patients were enrolled from October 2018 to February 2019. The experimental group (36 cases) received a 10-week WeChat-based individualized rehabilitation program, while the control group (36 cases) received routine follow-up guidance. The outcomes were measured using the Exercise Compliance Questionnaire, Numerical Rating Scale, Oswestry Disability Index and Chinese version of the self-efficacy for exercise scale. The analysis using generalized estimation equations method shows significant differences in the interaction effect of group*time in exercise compliance (Wald c2= 7.459, P< 0.05), group effect in pain (Wald c2= 5.811, P< 0.05) and self-efficacy (Wald c2= 16.383, P< 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the group effect in dysfunction improvement (Wald c2= 2.289, P> 0.05). The WeChat-based rehabilitation intervention can improve exercise compliance and self-efficacy, and help achieve greater pain relief compared to the routine intervention. However, the WeChat-based intervention did not offer better improvement in the self-dysfunction in the post-discharge LFS patients.

Comorbidity and Quality of In-Hospital Care for Hip Fracture Patients.

We examined whether the comorbidity burden of patients with hip fracture was associated with quality of in-hospital care reflected by fulfillment of process performance measures. Population-based cohort study using prospectively collected data from the Danish Multidisciplinary Hip Fracture Registry (DMHFR). Patients aged 65years or older with an incident hip fracture from 2014 to 2018 registered in the DMHFR (n= 31,443). Comorbidity was measured using the Charlson Comorbidity Index based on hospital diagnoses. Quality of in-hospital care was defined as fulfillment of eligible process performance measures, including preoperative optimization, early surgery, early mobilization, pain assessment, basic mobility, nutritional risk, need for anti-osteoporotic medication, fall prevention, and a post-discharge rehabilitation program, reflecting guideline-recommended in-hospital care. The outcomes were (1) an all-or-none composite measure defined as fulfillment of all relevant process performance measures, and (2) fulfillment of the individual process performance measures. Using binary regression, we calculated relative risk (RR) for the association between comorbidity level and outcomes. The overall proportion of patients with hip fracture who fulfilled the all-or-none measure was 31%. Among patients with no comorbidity, 34% fulfilled the all-or-none measure versus 29% among patients with high comorbidity (Charlson ≥ 3). This corresponds to a 15% lower chance (RR= 0.85, 95% confidence interval 0.81-0.89). Increasing comorbidity was also associated with lower fulfillment of the individual process performance measures. The largest difference was seen for preoperative optimization, early surgery, and early mobilization, where patients with high comorbidity had 6% to 11% lower chance of fulfillment of these process performance measures compared with patients without comorbidity. Increasing level of comorbidity was associated with lower quality of in-hospital care among patients with hip fracture. Our results highlight the need for tailored clinical initiatives to ensure that comorbid patients also benefit from the positive progress in hip fracture care in recent years.