The integration of the Italian Rehabilitation Complexity Scale in the assessment of patients admitted to different levels of care in public and private accredited settings and belonging to the main rehabilitative MDCs: a national experience.

Scores were collected only at admission, so the study cannot show how these scales change during rehabilitation or whether they track progress. The ER group was too small and was excluded from main comparisons, so the findings do not describe that level of care well. Patients with less common problems were grouped as 'Other rehabilitation problems' and excluded from main analysis, so rare profiles are not represented. The study was observational and did not test whether using these scales improves care planning, length of stay or patient outcomes. Facilities volunteered and the sample was Italian, so the results may not transfer to other health systems or settings. Missing data were removed listwise, although missingness for key variables was 2.10%. Comorbidity showed only weak links to function, complexity and length of stay, while the authors note that comorbidity remains clinically important and difficult to quantify.

The authors declared no financial conflicts of interest. Funding was institutional from Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore di Milano.

Do not conclude that using these scales will shorten stay or improve outcomes. The study observed scores at admission and associated patterns with length of stay; it did not test an intervention.