Clinical Outcomes of Acute Rehabilitation - a Cohort Study of 1.018 Cases of Interdisciplinary Early Rehabilitation in an Acute Hospital

Purpose Interdisciplinary acute rehabilitation (AR) refers to the earliest possible use of rehabilitative measures in an acute care setting. It closes the gap between acute medical care and post-acute rehabilitation. This study aims to assess functional gains of an interdisciplinary acute rehabilitation sample. Materials and Methods Retrospective analysis of n=1.018 AR cases, treated on a specialized acute rehabilitation unit between 2011 and 2020. Primary clinical outcomes were mobility, as assessed with Charite Mobility Index, ADL function (Barthel Index) as well as discharge location. Results Functional gains in mobility (p<0.001; r=0.6) and ADL (p<0.001; r=0.6) were highly significant with high effect sizes. The majority of patients were discharged to their homes (45%) or to post-acute rehabilitation (42%). Conclusions Mobility and ADL function largely improve in a sample of patients with complex rehabilitation needs, who received acute rehabilitation.