Multicenter study on predictors of rehabilitation outcome and home discharge in people with non-traumatic spinal cord injuries.
Marco Franceschini, Carrie-Louise Thouant, Maurizio Agosti and 6 others
PMID 40643269WHAT IT FOUND
Functional scores at discharge predicted going home better than scores at admission in people with non-traumatic spinal cord injury.
Longer stay, higher admission score, younger age, being married, and no central venous catheter were linked to home discharge.
Key findings
01Functional score at discharge predicted home discharge better than functional score at admission.
02Longer stay and higher admission SCIM score were significant predictors of home discharge.
03At discharge, 307 individuals returned home and 20% were transferred to acute care units or other healthcare facilities.
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 was observational, so it can show links but not prove that any treatment or longer stay caused home discharge. Only 394 of 1827 consecutive admissions were included, and the analysed number changed across results, with 383 in discharge tables and 387 in ROC analysis. Healthcare services were managed at regional level, so rehabilitation practices may have differed across the 13 regions. There was no long-term follow-up after discharge, so the paper does not show how people functioned at home or whether gains lasted. Non-home discharge included transfers to other healthcare facilities and deaths, so it was not a pure measure of rehabilitation success. NTSCI was grouped together despite different causes and disease courses, which may mix different rehabilitation needs. Psychological well-being, social support, and access to post-rehabilitation services were not measured.
Declared interests
This study was funded by the Italian Ministry of Health. The authors declared no conflict of interest with any financial organization.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that keeping a person in hospital longer makes them more likely to go home. The study observed that longer stay was linked with home discharge, but stay was not assigned and may reflect severity, complications, or regional practice.