Changes in Patterns of Referral for Inpatient Rehabilitation Cancer Patients Due to COVID-19: A Retrospective Study.
Ekta Gupta, Amy H Ng, Aline Rozman de Moraes and 5 others
PMID 37602564WHAT IT FOUND
Cancer inpatient rehabilitation referrals increased by 1% during early COVID-19, despite 30% fewer hospital admissions.
The referral mix shifted significantly from neurosurgery to hematology, and transfers back to acute care doubled.
Key findings
01The percentage of hospital admissions referred to physiatry increased significantly from 3.8% in 2019 to 4.8% in 2020, contrary to the expectation that referrals would drop with admissions.
02Among patients admitted to inpatient rehabilitation, the proportion from hematology services rose while those from neurosurgery fell significantly in 2020 compared to 2019.
03The frequency of patients transferred back from inpatient rehabilitation to acute care services significantly increased in 2020 compared to 2019.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study covers only a specific four-month window (April-July) of the early pandemic, so findings may not apply to later phases or other regions. The institution had an integrated inpatient rehabilitation unit within the cancer facility, which may limit generalizability to hospitals without such integrated services. The increase in transfers back to acute care was observed but the specific clinical reasons were not fully detailed in the results beyond noting hematological diagnoses and chemotherapy needs.
Declared interests
The authors declare no competing interests and no financial benefits.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the increase in physiatry referrals indicates a greater demand for rehabilitation services overall. The total number of referrals actually decreased (387 to 337); the percentage rose only because total hospital admissions fell more sharply.