Baseline Characteristics and Outcomes for People With and Without COVID-19 Diagnoses Receiving Inpatient Rehabilitation Care Across the US in 2020-2021.
Elissa J Charbonneau, Prateek Grover, Jeffery S Johns and 2 others
PMID 37744204WHAT IT FOUND
Patients with COVID-19 diagnoses in inpatient rehabilitation were more medically complex, stayed longer, and were less likely to go home, but they made larger mobility and self-care gains and had similar fall rates.
Key findings
01Among patients in the neurologic rehabilitation category, 68.4% of those with a COVID-19 diagnosis had critical illness myopathy, compared with 37.0% of those without a COVID-19 diagnosis.
02Patients with a COVID-19 diagnosis waited longer from acute hospital admission to inpatient rehabilitation (24.3 days vs 18 days) and had longer inpatient rehabilitation stays (14.2 days vs 12.9 days).
03Patients with a COVID-19 diagnosis had lower admission mobility scores (31.9 vs 32.7) but greater mobility change (32.8 vs 31.9) and greater self-care change (13.5 vs 13.0).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study is observational and compares groups without multivariable adjustment, so differences may reflect other factors rather than COVID-19 itself. It did not distinguish whether COVID-19 was the primary diagnosis or a comorbid condition. It included only patients who survived to and qualified for inpatient rehabilitation, which may select for more severe illness than other post-acute settings. The sample was limited to 138 Encompass Health inpatient rehabilitation facilities. Functional analyses excluded 3,484 patients with incomplete functional data and 623 patients with short or incomplete stays. No randomisation, blinding, or intervention was tested, so the results are not evidence of treatment efficacy.
Declared interests
No conflict-of-interest statement is provided in the supplied text. The dataset came from 138 Encompass Health inpatient rehabilitation facilities and was de-identified by Encompass Health IT before sharing with the study team.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the larger functional gains as proof that COVID-19 rehabilitation works better. This is an observational comparison of patients who survived to inpatient rehabilitation, and the study did not test an intervention or adjust for confounders.