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A comparison of stroke rehabilitation; data from two national cohorts
Author(s) -
Bērziņa G.,
Vētra A.,
Sunnerhagen K.S.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/ane.12542
Subject(s) - rehabilitation , stroke (engine) , physical medicine and rehabilitation , medicine , physical therapy , psychology , engineering , mechanical engineering
Objectives Inpatient rehabilitation is a commonly used complex intervention to improve a person's independence after stroke. Evaluation and comparison of the effects of routine clinical practice could provide a contribution towards optimization of stroke care. The aim of this study is to describe results of inpatient rehabilitation as a complex intervention for persons after stroke and explore possible differences between two countries. Methods Data from 1055 Latvian and 1748 Swedish adult patients after stroke receiving inpatient rehabilitation, during 2011–2013, were used for this retrospective cohort study. Qualitative description of systems, as well as information on basic medical and sociodemographic information, and organizational aspects were reported. Change in the Functional Independence Measure during rehabilitation was investigated. In six domains of the instrument, the shifts for three levels of dependence were analysed using ordinal regression analysis. Results The components of stroke care seem to be similar in Latvia and Sweden. However, the median time since stroke onset until the start of rehabilitation was 13 weeks in Latvia and 2 weeks in Sweden. The median length of rehabilitation was 12 and 49 days, respectively. The level of dependency at start, time since stroke onset and length of the period had an impact on the results of the rehabilitation. Conclusions Although components of the rehabilitation are reported as being the same, characteristics and the outcome of the inpatient rehabilitation are different. Therefore, comparison of stroke rehabilitation between countries requires caution.