A retrospective study on return to living alone of stroke patients who were living alone before stroke.
Shogo Sawamura, Ayano Enya
PMID 37266369WHAT IT FOUND
Stroke patients who lived alone before onset were more likely to return home when functional score (FIM) at discharge was 91 or higher and social score was low.
Social problems lowered return rates even when ADL scores were high.
Key findings
01Among 103 patients who lived alone before stroke, 50 returned home to live alone and 53 did not, for a return home rate of 48.5%.
02FIM at discharge and social score were significantly related to whether patients returned home, and the FIM cutoff value was 91.
03Return home rate was 68.4% for social score 0 and 23.0% for social score 3.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was single-center and retrospective, so the cutoffs may not apply to other hospitals or regions. The social score was derived from conference and social worker records, and items such as financial problems or long-term care coordination may depend on the evaluator's judgment. The study did not record patients' own preferences for discharge destination. The study did not follow patients after discharge, so it did not show how long they lived alone or whether they were satisfied. The study did not analyse changes in physical function or social environment during hospitalization. Only 103 patients were included.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use FIM 91 and social score 3 as a guarantee that a patient can live alone safely. This was a single-center retrospective prediction model, not a tested intervention, and it did not follow patients after discharge.