Comparing stroke rehabilitation outcomes between acute inpatient and nonintense home settings.

Abstract

To compare outcomes in stroke survivors who received rehabilitation services in an acute inpatient rehabilitation setting (multidisciplinary rehabilitation team) with outcomes in survivors in a home-based setting (family caregivers, limited team supervision). Randomized clinical trial, with mean follow-up after 60 days. Inpatient rehabilitation setting and home-based settings. Sixty patients (age range, 43-80yr) who had a stroke between 1996 and 1999 and had been referred after medical stabilization, randomly divided into 2 groups: group 1, inpatient rehabilitation; group 2, home-based rehabilitation. Group 1: therapeutical and neuromuscular exercises with occupational therapy with professional supervision; group 2: conventional exercises with family caregiver and limited professional supervision. Spasticity was evaluated with the Ashworth Scale, motor status with Brunnstrom's stages, functional status with the FIM instrument, and cognitive status with the Mini-Mental State Examination before and after rehabilitation. Patients rehabilitated in acute inpatient settings had better motor, functional, and cognitive outcomes (p < .05). Spasticity changes did not differ between the groups. Intense inpatient rehabilitation services for stroke survivors provide significantly more favorable functional and cognitive outcomes with relatively low complications than did nonintense rehabilitation efforts in home settings.