Predictors of Discharge Destination After Stroke.
Theresa Schrage, Götz Thomalla, Martin Härter and 4 others
PMID 37039307WHAT IT FOUND
Stroke severity, age, and living alone before the stroke strongly predicted where patients went after acute care.
Patients living alone were 5.56 times more likely to go to a residential facility, while those with severe strokes or longer stays were more likely to need rehabilitation.
Key findings
01Patients who lived alone before their stroke had 5.56 times higher odds of being discharged to a residential facility rather than home.
02Higher stroke severity and longer hospital stays were associated with increased odds of discharge to neurological or geriatric rehabilitation instead of home.
03Pre-stroke functional impairment and care level did not significantly predict discharge destination, likely because most patients in the sample had low impairment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This was a secondary exploratory analysis, so the data were not originally collected to answer these specific questions. Important predictors like patient preferences, availability of local facilities, and financial constraints were not measured. The sample was from Germany, so the specific rehabilitation pathways and care levels may not translate directly to other healthcare systems. Most patients had low pre-stroke functional impairment, which may explain why baseline disability did not predict discharge destination. The study excluded patients with severe communication disturbances or insufficient German language skills, potentially limiting generalizability to more impaired populations.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the Innovation Fund of the German Federal Joint Committee.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that pre-stroke disability or care level predicts where a patient will go after stroke. In this study, these factors were not significant, likely because the sample had low baseline impairment. Living alone and stroke severity were much stronger predictors.