FRIDAY, Jan. 31, 2020 (HealthDay News) — For patients receiving inpatient rehabilitation services following hip fracture surgery, the rate of recovery and length of stay (LOS) are associated with mobility and self-care after discharge, according to a study published online Jan. 24 in JAMA Network Open.
Alison M. Cogan, Ph.D., from the Washington D.C. VA Medical Center, and colleagues conducted a retrospective study involving 150 patients aged ≥65 years who received inpatient rehabilitation services for hip fracture surgery. Patients were classified into recovery groups based on low, medium, or high therapy minutes per LOS day and low, medium, or high rate of functional gain per day.
The researchers found that by discharge, high-gain patients achieved mobility independence, while assistance was required on nearly all mobility tasks for low-gain patients. At discharge, medium-gain patients with a mean LOS of 27 days were independent in mobility, while those with a mean LOS of <21 days were dependent with stairs and required supervision with toilet transfers. Much of the variance in mobility and self-care scores at discharge were explained by LOS and functional gain rate. Only 1 percent of the variance in discharge outcome was explained by medium- and high-therapy minutes per LOS-day groups.
“The inclination is typically to give a patient more therapy per day,” a coauthor said in a statement. “But perhaps more isn’t always the right thing to do. Maybe a longer stay is the right thing for some patients.”
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