Inpatient rehabilitation of patients requiring hemodialysis

To evaluate the outcomes of patients who require hemodialysis and are admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation unit.

Retrospective review of the data of all admissions to an inpatient rehabilitation unit in 2001.

University medical center.

All inpatient rehabilitation admissions in 2001 (N=531), including 497 patients who did not require hemodialysis and 34 who required hemodialysis.

A comprehensive rehabilitation program including physical therapy and occupational therapy. Speech and language therapy and rehabilitation psychology were provided when necessary.

Length of stay (LOS), change in total score on the FIM instrument, FIM efficiency, and place of discharge.

Admission and discharge FIM scores of the patients requiring hemodialysis were virtually identical to those of the other patients admitted to the unit. The average LOS of the hemodialysis patients was 5.4 days longer than that of the other patients, and, therefore, efficiency scores of the dialysis group were less than those of the other patients. The rate of discharge to the community did not differ significantly for the dialysis group.

Patients who require hemodialysis can benefit from rehabilitation services. Their improvement on the FIM instrument is comparable to that of other patients, but their LOS may be longer than that of other patients.