FUNCTIONAL OUTCOME OF HEMORRHAGIC AND NONHEMORRHAGIC STROKE PATIENTS AFTER INPATIENT REHABILITATION

Differences in functional prognosis for patients with hemorrhagic and nonhemorrhagic strokes are unclear. The purpose of this study is to co mpare the functional outcome of hemorrhagic and nonhemorrhagic stroke patients after inpatient stroke rehabilitation. By retrospective revie w, 25 hemorrhagic stroke patients were matched with 25 nonhemorrhagic stroke patients on the basis of age and onset to admission interval. D ischarge Functional Independence Measure (FIM), FIM gain, FIM efficien cy, length of stay (LOS), and discharge disposition were compared. Adm ission FIM, gender, and comorbidities were similar between the two gro ups. There were no differences in discharge FIM, FIM gain, and dischar ge to home rates between groups. However, the hemorrhagic group had a significantly shorter LOS (31.7 v 37.6 days; P = 0.05) with higher FIM -total efficiency (0.84 v 0.60; P = 0.02). The FIM-motor scale account ed for most of the gains in efficiency (0.71 v 0.53; P = 0.05) with no significant difference in FIM-cognition efficiency between groups. Po st hoc analysis revealed that onset to admission interval was a strong predictor of LOS (r = 0.62; P < 0.0001). Hemorrhagic stroke patients appear to exhibit functional gains somewhat faster than nonhemorrhagic counterparts. Confirmation of these preliminary findings must await f uture studies.