Do Falls Experienced During Inpatient Stroke Rehabilitation Affect Length of Stay, Functional Status, and Discharge Destination?
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Updated: Mar 28, 2026
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Published on: January 18, 2018
Jennifer S Wong1, Dina Brooks2, Avril Mansfield3
1Toronto Rehabilitation Institute - University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada; Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Objective:
To compare length of stay, functional status, and discharge destination between individuals who fell during inpatient stroke rehabilitation and those who did not fall.
Design:
Retrospective cohort study.
Setting:
Rehabilitation hospital.
Participants:
Individuals who fell during inpatient stroke rehabilitation (n=106; fallers group; mean age, 67.8±12.9y; mean time poststroke, 26.4±28.3d) were matched to individuals who did not fall (n=106; nonfallers group; mean age, 67.3±13.6y; mean time poststroke, 21.9±28.8d) on age and functional status (N=212).
Interventions:
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures:
Total length of stay, FIM assessed at discharge, and discharge destination.
Results:
The mean length of stay for fallers was 11 days longer than nonfallers (P=.0017). Nonfallers and fallers did not differ on discharge total FIM scores (P=.19), and both groups were discharged home after inpatient rehabilitation (nonfallers: 77%; fallers: 74%; P=.52).
Conclusions:
This study suggests that falls experienced during inpatient stroke rehabilitation may have contributed to a longer length of stay; however, falls did not affect discharge functional status or discharge destination.
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