Five Functional Classes Identified Among Patients Hospitalized for Pneumonia Characterized by Activity Limitations With Mobility and Self-Care Tasks.

The study was cross-sectional and observational, so it cannot show that occupational therapy or physical therapy caused a discharge outcome. Patients had to be evaluated by occupational therapy or physical therapy and have complete records, so it may not represent pneumonia patients who were not seen by therapy. The data came from one health system, although it included urban and rural hospitals. The AM-PAC scores were recorded at the first occupational therapy or physical therapy visit, regardless of whether the patient was in intensive care or on a floor, and function may have changed by discharge. Discharge location was a recommended disposition, not an actual confirmed destination. Electronic medical records were not collected for research, and interrater reliability was unknown. Class assignment was based on posterior probabilities and did not account for measurement error in class membership. The latent class model assumes the task items are independent once the class is known, and this assumption is difficult to confirm.

Do not use these classes to prove that occupational therapy or physical therapy improves discharge outcomes. The study observed first-visit activity patterns and recommended discharge locations, so it shows associations, not treatment effects.