Rehabilitation Outcomes of Patients with Stroke: Effect of Age on Functional Outcome and Discharge Destination

Objective: To investigate the effect of age on rehabilitation outcomes of patients with acute stroke. Design: Retrospective observational cohort study. Setting: Acute inpatient rehabilitation department in general hospital. Participants: Five hundred fifty-six patients with acute stroke admitted in 5 years. Intervention: Standard interdisciplinary rehabilitation program for 3 hours per day. Main outcome measures: Onset-admission interval, length of stay (LOS), neurological impairment according to National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, activity of daily living disability measured by the functional independence measure (FIM), degree of disability according to the modified Rankin Scale, and discharge destination. Results: Mean age of our patients was 68.4 ± 12 years, and 356 (64%) of them were above the age of 65 years. Mean FIM value at admission and at discharge was significantly higher (P =.017 and P =.01, respectively), FIM gain was similar (20.6 ± 13 vs 17.1 ± 17.8; P = not significant), and FIM efficacy (FIM gain/LOS) was significantly higher (0.6 ± 0.6 vs 0.34 ± 0.32; P =.01) in the younger group. Functional independence measure at discharge and FIM efficacy were significantly correlated with age, LOS, and FIM at admission. The rate of home discharge was similar between elderly and young patients with stroke being as high as 96.2%. Conclusions: Although functional outcomes of younger patients with stroke were better as compared to the older patients with stroke, at the end of rehabilitation most of our patients regarding age were able to return home independently.