A Saturday physiotherapy service may decrease length of stay in patients undergoing rehabilitation in hospital: a...

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Clinical Trial Design
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Inpatient rehabilitation aims to optimize patient recovery and functional independence.
• The impact of extending physiotherapy services beyond weekdays on rehabilitation outcomes is not well-established.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if additional Saturday physiotherapy intervention benefits inpatients undergoing rehabilitation.
• To assess the effect on hospital length of stay, physiotherapy duration, patient outcomes, and care burden.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 262 inpatients.
• Participants were allocated to either standard (Monday-Friday) or extended (Monday-Saturday) physiotherapy intervention.
• Concealed allocation, assessor blinding, and intention-to-treat analysis were employed.

Main Results:

• The extended physiotherapy group showed a trend towards shorter hospital length of stay (3.2 days) and physiotherapy length of stay (2.5 days).
• No significant differences were observed in most secondary patient outcomes, including health state, independence, activity, and flexibility.
• The risk of adverse events or not being discharged home was similar between groups.

Conclusions:

• Additional Saturday physiotherapy intervention may lead to reduced length of stay without compromising patient outcomes or increasing care burden.
• A larger multicenter trial is warranted to confirm these findings and explore the potential benefits of extended physiotherapy services.