Impact of functional change before and during hospitalization on functional recovery 1 month following...

The functional changes that occur immediately before acute hospitalization and those that occur during hospitalization are pertinent to posthospitalization functional status in older adults. Our primary aim was to estimate the effects of membership in categories that take into account pre- and within-hospital functional changes on the likelihood of functional recovery (FR) 1 month after discharge.

The sample included 691 older (≥70) adults admitted to general-medical inpatient units in two hospitals in Israel. FR was defined as a restoration of functioning 1 month postdischarge to levels reported 2 weeks prior to admission. Patients were classified according to functional decline or stability during the prehospital stage and decline, stability, or improvement between admission and discharge in terms of ability to perform self-care or mobility activities. We performed multivariate logistic regressions to test the association between categories of functional change and FR.

Patients who remained stable before and during hospitalization had the highest odds of maintaining their premorbid functional levels. Those who experienced functional improvement during hospitalization, despite previous functional loss, were 2.3-2.9 times more likely than persistent decliners to experience FR (p < .05 for all). Comparable patterns were found in the relationship between pre- and in-hospital functional trajectories and recovery, both in self-care and in mobility.

Differentiating between pre- and in-hospital functional changes is important for promoting short-term posthospitalization FR. In-hospital function-focused care that takes into account preadmission functional history may help improve posthospitalization FR.