Examination of Rehabilitation Intensity According to Severity of Acute Stroke: A Retrospective Study

To investigate the intensity and effectiveness of rehabilitation in acute stroke patients according to the severity of functional impairments in them.

This retrospective cohort study included 294 patients with acute hemispheric stroke admitted to three acute-care hospitals who subsequently underwent an inpatient rehabilitation program. Stroke severity was classified according to neurological deficits and trunk dysfunction. The following data were obtained from medical records: age, sex, stroke type, lesion side, hospitalization duration, initial functional status determined using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, rehabilitation start date, first day out of bed after admission, total treatment duration, total number of treatment sessions, rehabilitation implementation rate between start of rehabilitation and discharge, trunk control test and Barthel Index score on the first day out of bed after admission and discharge, and post-discharge outcomes. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed with clusters categorized using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and trunk control test scores. Variables were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test, and Dunn's nonparametric comparison test was performed for post-hoc analysis to determine differences between clusters.

The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and trunk control test showed a significant correlation (r = -0.816, p < 0.01) using which cluster analysis identified three clusters. Rehabilitation showed a ceiling effect in patients with mild stroke and a floor effect in patients with severe stroke.

These results may guide the determination of rehabilitation intensity with reference to the severity of neurological deficits and trunk dysfunction.