Background/Objectives: Swift achievement of an optimal functional status after stroke may substantially reduce patients’ stay in a medical facility and enable their return home. The study aimed to assess the functional status in patients after their first stroke, depending on the time after stroke incident and the patient’s length of stay in the stroke rehabilitation ward. Methods: The data from 229 patients, aged 69.4 ± 11.3 years (120 men and 109 women), formed part of the analysis. Based on medical records, basic socio-demographic, clinical data, and the results of the tests—Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Barthel Index (BI), Time Walk Test 10 m (TWT), Trunk Control Test (TCT), Up and Go Test (TUG), and Berg Balance Scale (BBS)—were collected. Results: The risk groups for patients with longer post-stroke rehabilitation stays and poorer rehabilitation outcomes included women, older adults, those with poorer functional status, and patients admitted to the stroke rehabilitation ward after a longer period of time after stroke. Conclusions: The functional status and the length of stay in the post-stroke rehabilitation ward should be monitored and analyzed to find and support groups of patients who may rehabilitate more slowly and stay longer in the ward. A shorter patient stay can allow for more effective management of beds in the post-stroke rehabilitation wards.
Małek et al. (Sun,) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: